


Where I Stand Is Absolute

by hgowff



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inarizaki Hinata Shouyou, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery, Second Year Hinata Shouyou, Self-Esteem Issues, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 57,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29540202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hgowff/pseuds/hgowff
Summary: Hinata arrives at Inarizaki High School with a constant whisper in the back of his mind: be careful or you’ll fall again. The voice that tells him he’ll never be an ace. That he really has no worth without Kageyama.Where better to chase away that voice than amidst a team that rejects the shackles of memory?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 141
Kudos: 287





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always torn between disappointed we didn't get details of Hinata's recovery from Nationals and glad because it means I can do it myself. So here I am being self indulgent.

Graduation is hard. Everyone is fighting back tears. Even so, the third years are grinning and laughing as they wave goodbye.

They’d had their final practice the night before. The third years had been coming to practice less and less since Nationals. They’d stuck with the team through the recovery from their loss and then slowly eased away, letting them get used to life without their leaders. Hinata found himself doing the same.

But their last practice was just a game between themselves for fun and memories, with nothing on the line but who bought the final after practice snacks. The (probable) new starting lineup for Karasuno’s team, with Ennoshita and Yamaguchi taking the place of Daichi and Asahi, against the third years and the reserves. 

What started out as a normal game quickly descended into the chaos of a team saying a fond farewell at the end of an amazing year.

They ended up all laughing and arguing, swapping players across the net with just a yell and players taking shots at roles they never had. It was pretty lawless, if they were honest. Without enough players to switch libero in and out, Nishinoya was just another player and had a great time trying spiking. Everyone took a shot at setting, much to Kageyama’s annoyance. Not correcting people on technique and just going with it for fun was still something he struggled with, but he did a pretty good job. By the end, everyone had lost track of scores and were really just throwing the ball around. They even dragged Yachi into the game, with the excuse that she had to, at the very least, learn to avoid or block stray balls that came flying her way. Although she spent most of her time hiding behind Nishinoya or Daichi. But at least she’d looked like she was having fun.

The after practice snacks they reminisced over and cried into were on Coach Ukai in the end.

And now they’re waving goodbye to the third years as they walk away. It feels like an end of something huge rather than just the end of a school year. The third years disappear into the sunset and Ennoshita turns to them with Yachi by his side. Their new captain and manager duo. 

“Well,” Ennoshita says. “I’m guessing none of you are going to actually take today off from practice?”

“We’ve gotta start getting our team together ready for next year’s Inter-High, right?” Nishinoya says with a grin.

“Are you worried a new miracle first years will come up and take your spot next year?” Tsukishima says.

Hinata gets a bit swept up by everything. Everyone heads down to the clubroom together while Yachi goes to open up the gym and Hinata can’t really find his voice to speak up. He pauses on the steps up to the second level. Everyone else is running up ahead but Hinata’s legs are heavy and cold. Suddenly, just two flights of stairs, just going up one floor, seems like a mountain to climb. 

“Oi, dumbass,” Kageyama calls. Hinata lifts his head. Kageyama is waiting at the top of the steps. “There’s no point beating you if you don’t try.”

“Don’t worry,” Hinata replies with a smile. “I’ll beat you properly soon enough.”

Kageyama frowns at him and tilts his head. “Are you coming or what?”

“No,” he says after a moment. He turns slowly and heads back down the stairs. If he goes back into the clubroom, it’ll all hit him too hard. “I’m going to help Yachi-san set up.”

“Oi!”

He hurries down the stairs before Kageyama can yell too much. He jumps the last few steps and hurries across to the gym instead. Yachi doesn’t do much setting up on her own, but she has the ball bin out and the lights on. 

“Yachi-san!” Hinata calls. Yachi turns and he grins as he changes his shoes. “I came to help set up.”

“Shouldn’t you be changing though?” she says.

“Ah, you’re already turning into an awesome manager,” he laughs. “C’mon, I’ll help you set up the net.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing.”

Yachi frowns at him as they set up with only quiet small talk between them. The others are taking their time too. They’re probably worrying about why Hinata isn’t with them. They’re probably having some sort of serious conversation about why he’s skipping out on practices and not competing with Kageyama. He’s trying. He does want to compete with Kageyama and grin and laugh as he plays. And last night he did nearly reach his old self again. Or at least, what he thinks is his old self. The him who didn’t always have this nagging thought in the back of his mind: _be careful or you’ll fall again_. 

“Umm…”

Ah. Here it comes.

He turns and smiles at Yachi from the other end of the net. “Yes?”

“Are you… ok…?” Yachi says.

“Of course!” Hinata laughs. “I’m fully recovered. I can jump as high as ever. No, even higher! And faster too! You watch, next year-”

“Everyone’s worried about you!” she cries.

He knows.

“Why?” he says instead. “I’m fine.”

“You keep missing practice,” Yachi says, shaking her head. “We know you’re not allowed to come to morning practice until the new year but you’re not coming to after school practice either. You’ve been avoiding the team. And when you do come to practice you vanish before anyone else, even Tsukishima-kun. You’re not staying back to practice with Kageyama-kun. Everyone’s worried that you’re still not feeling right, even if you’re physically recovered.”

Hinata sighs and leans back against the net post. “You overthink things, right, Yachi-san?”

Maybe that was a bit blunt. Yachi’s gone red and is stammering helplessly. Yeah, probably a bit blunt. He forgets not everyone can take him just blurting out his thoughts like Kageyama can. 

“I just mean, I’ve been sorta overthinking too,” he says. Yachi visibly relaxes with a quiet ‘ _oh_ ’. “Not really Nationals. I mean, sorta Nationals but other stuff too. And putting off talking about it for all sorts of reasons but that just makes it worse to figure out the right time. I didn’t wanna do it straight after Nationals, because everyone was so down and I didn’t want to make things worse. I thought I’d wait for everyone to be in a better mood. And then when everyone was in a better mood, I didn’t want to ruin the mood and bring everyone back down. Does that make sense?”

Yachi nods with way too much enthusiasm and grabs his hands. “I totally get it. There’s no right time to deliver bad news, right? Whenever you tell everyone, it’ll ruin the mood and then you’ll feel bad and that’ll make them feel bad for making you feel bad when you’re giving them bad news and then everyone just feels awful, so you put it off and have longer to think about how awful it’s going to be, right?”

“Basically. You’re very excited about this.”

“I don’t totally get volleyball still, but if there’s one place I’m an expert and can definitely help, it’s anxiety.” She gestures to the gallery above. “We’ve set everything up, so if you want to talk we can. Even if I can’t fix things, I might be able to be anxious with you. And I tend to find someone else being anxious with me kind of helps.”

Hinata gazes at her for a moment before nodding. He leads his way up the ladder to the next level with Yachi behind him and the pair sit against the rails, looking over the court set up. Saying something is pretty tricky but Yachi waits quietly, her weight lightly against his side, just enough for him to feel it. To know she’s still here. 

There’s noise below and the rest of the team come bounding in. There’s a moment of confusion, looking around the set up gym with no sign of them before Yachi calls that they’ll be down soon. Kageyama gives them a weird look before Coach Ukai and Takeda come in and distract him.

“How did I know none of you would actually take a day off?” Ukai scolds lightly. “Alright, we’re gonna hold a meeting before we all get too distracted. I’m not gonna force you two to come down, but yell if you can’t hear. It’s important, ok?”

“Ok,” they call back.

Despite that, he even brings the meeting closer to where they’re sitting. Hinata really feels pretty awful for making everyone worry and change stuff for him after all this. Everything they do just makes the guilt worse. 

“I know everyone is probably going to struggle with the third years moving on,” Takeda says in his usual soft way. “We’ve lost three important members of our team. Replacing them isn’t going to be easy. In fact, replacing them is probably impossible. No one will ever be able to simply step into their shoes. But, we have a strong team. We have strong members and strong bonds. And after our success this year, it’s very possible we will have an influx of new members next year.”

“Of course, they might just think it’s a fluke,” Ukai says. “Middle schoolers who want to play volleyball seriously will likely still try for the more well known powerhouse schools and we’re left with the desperate or those unable to go anywhere else. We have to be prepared for both cases. For a wave of new talented first years, or having to do everything with what we’ve got. Either way, I’m going to keep pushing you all. There’s no excuse for slacking off.” 

“Not that many of you seem to know what slacking off is. I’m sure none of you are going to take any time off either. So, we’ll skip morning practice and I guess see you all after school.”

They run through a few more bits and pieces about the new year and new students and other pretty boring things. Everyone is getting restless. Until finally they’re allowed to start warming up and get ready for their final practice before the break.

It’s only once everyone is actually practicing and working that Hinata’s shoulders slump. The thwack of the balls and squeak of shoes and yell of instructions can cover up their conversation. Hinata sighs and Yachi pats his arm.

“I’m not coming back in the new year,” Hinata says at last.

“You- you’re not?!” Yachi cries. “Why?!”

There’s a pause in the movement below and Yachi laughs nervously, waving down at them in the least reassuring way ever. After a moment to make sure it's just Yachi being Yachi, everyone gets back to their practice. 

“I can totally see why you didn’t know the right time to tell everyone,” Yachi says quietly. “Is it because of what happened at Nationals?”

Hinata shakes his head. “It was decided before Nationals.”

“Why then?”

“Because my dad’s been transferred closer to head office.” Yachi’s eyes widen and Hinata turns his gaze down to the practice below. Kageyama keeps glancing their way. “Actually, the move was planned to happen in December.”

“Before Nationals?”

Hinata nods. “But, turns out my dad’s boss or something is actually a pretty huge volleyball guy and even played at Nationals himself in high school. So, when he found out I was on a team going to Nationals, he said we could find a way to delay the move until the end of the school year. My dad’s been living in an apartment they use for clients while they sort everything out and I was able to go to Nationals with you guys.”

“That was really nice of him.”

“I think Dad said his boss even saw us play and was pretty impressed,” Hinata laughs quietly. “He got an email the next morning congratulating him on having such a fine player as a son. And, because I played on a national level team, he managed to pull the right strings to get me into a really exclusive school. The one he played for and is still a big donor for. Apparently they’re usually really tough to get into and transferring is almost impossible. I got in on my volleyball and his recommendation.”

“So you’ll be playing for a national level team?”

“It’s kinda terrifying. Like, everyone here is awesome, but there’s only twelve of us. I’m not sure how I’d have managed at a bigger and already better school. If we’d had loads of great players to choose from, I wouldn’t have got the chance to prove myself useful. I only got that chance because me and Kageyama were arguing and there were so few of us that stood out.” He frowns and lowers his head. “And I just keep remembering Coach Washijou saying I have no value without Kageyama.” 

“Obviously this school doesn’t think so,” Yachi says. Hinata glances at her. “They probably checked you out, right? They wouldn’t just accept you because a donor said so. They probably checked out your match tapes or something and saw potential.”

Hinata blinks. He supposes… he hadn’t thought about it like that.

“What school?” Yachi says. “Did we see them at Nationals?” 

Hinata frowns. “Promise you won’t tell.”

“Why?” she says.

“Just promise,” Hinata says. “You can’t tell the team. It’ll make things awkward. Promise.”

Yachi sighs and nods.

“Pinky promise,” Hinata says, holding out his little finger. 

Yachi grins and links her finger around his. “Promise.”

Hinata takes a deep breath and steadies himself. He’d known since before Nationals where he was going. The moment his dad had told his boss about Karasuno going to Nationals, he’d been kind enough to offer the transfer. Their performance from then only proved his instincts right, apparently.

“Inarizaki.”

“ _Huh?!_ ” 

There’s another pause in practice and Coach Ukai looks up their way. “Everything ok up there?”

“Hinata’s insane,” Yachi sighs.

“We already know that,” Tsukishima says.

Hinata leans against Yachi. He hadn’t really been looking for Inarizaki at Nationals. Honestly, he’d sorta hoped not to see them so he could carry on ignoring the situation. Coming up against them was pretty scary. He knew they’d be amazing if he could only get in because he’d played at Nationals. Even though a lot of the match is kinda a blur, he knows they were amazing and exhausting and the Miya twins copied their quick - which means Hinata doesn’t need _Kageyama_ , he just needs a _good setter_. But honestly, a lot of it is a blur. A lot of Nationals in general is a blur. A few moments stick out, but most of it happens so fast, remembering play by play is hard. 

“Inarizaki had the Miya Twins, right?” Yachi says at last.

“Yeah,” Hinata says. 

“Then what are you scared of?” she says. Hinata frowns at her. “Didn’t the setter twin say he wanted to toss for you?”

“He did?” 

Now she mentions it, he does remember one of the twins saying something to him after the match. He’d been distracted by arguing with Kageyama and his awesome receives that match. And then he’d been too busy being exhausted and trying to figure out which twin it was to really pay attention to the words though. He assumed it was the usual ‘ _I’ll get you next time_ ’ sorta stuff most teams say after a match. What the twin - apparently setter twin - had been saying had been lost in the haze of excitement, exhaustion and apparently oncoming fever.

“Ah, I guess he did look at me like the scary setters do,” Hinata says quietly.

“Scary setters?” Yachi says.

Hinata nods. “It’s hard to explain but I can sorta tell the difference between just normal good setters and scary awesome setters like Kageyama by how they look at me. Umm… how do I put this…? It’s like… It’s like normal setters are kinda scared of me.”

“Scared of you?” she repeats.

He nods. It’s tricky to put into words, but after so many matches he’s started to notice it. Normal setters tend to react to seeing him and Kageyama in one of two ways:

  1. The pretty flattering, ‘ _that’s insane, Kageyama must be amazing to keep up with him_ ’.
  2. Or the less flattering ‘ _that’s insane, Kageyama must be amazing to be able to use him_ ’.



Both were really just ways of looking at Hinata and thinking they were glad not to have to work with him. He’s insane and Kageyama must be the most amazing setter ever to work with him. And thank goodness they’re not his setter.

“But, the suuuuuper good setters like Kageyama aren’t,” he continues. Yachi nods slightly. “Kageyama was mad the first time we met. It annoyed me at first, but I’ve sorta realized now it’s because he knew how good I could be if I had a setter to match me. He’s never been afraid of how crazy my moves are, he just thinks about how to use them.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Yachi says. “Not backing down from you. Looking at you as a challenge rather than as something impossible to tame.”

“Yeah. Kenma just looks at me like I’m exhausting, but not scary. He doesn’t back away from tossing for me, he does it and Kuroo-san said that alone is weird even if he quickly decides I make him tired and leaves. I think he’d love me on the team if I was just less energetic. Akaashi-san too. He just sorta looked at me like I amused him. Tired but friendly. Like he looks at Bokuto-san. Kinda like how my parents look at me sometimes actually...”

Yachi nods. “You two are pretty similar. I can definitely see you growing up into him.”

“And even the Grand King, he looked surprised the first time, but never scared. And sometimes he looked like ‘ _why do you have to be at Kageyama’s side?_ ’. You know, like a kid who’s jealous of another kid’s toy? I think it had more to do with wanting to steal something from Kageyama than actually wanting to play with me.”

“And… Miya-san?”

Hinata frowns, trying to think back to that match with Inarizaki. And trying to figure out which Miya he was supposed to be thinking about. He does think perhaps they both looked at him like proper setters. They did both set for each other, didn’t they? He tilts his head, considering the weird look in their eyes. Definitely not scared. Blond Miya - the main setter, he thinks - thought he was cool. He thinks… he thinks setter Miya might have looked at him the same way Hinata looks at volleyball. He doesn’t think anyone has ever looked at him like that. 

“Like he was hungry.”

Yachi frowns at him for a moment before she smiles. “Have you watched the game properly?”

“Properly?” Hinata replies. 

“Without Coach going over plays and stuff?” Yachi says. “Just watching the game and enjoying it?”

“I mean… I’ve watched my awesome receives a couple hundred times,” he says.

“And that time you jumped and forgot to hit the ball?” she says.

Hinata groans, burying his face in his hands. “Don’t remind me of that.”

He still relives that moment at night every now and again. When he’s lying in bed at night thinking about nothing in particular, his mind will suddenly send him back to that moment and he’s there again, so taken by his amazing jump and how good he felt, forgetting to hit. He jumped and forgot to swing in a match broadcast nationally. Just being reminded of it now has him wanting to curl up into himself.

“Don’t worry,” Yachi says, patting his back. “I relieve it and get second hand embarrassment from it all the time too.”

“You get embarrassed by my mistakes?” Hinata says.

“All the time,” she replies. Hinata glances up. “It was so awful. I felt your embarrassment so much. It still makes my chest tight to think about it.”

“Well, that’s not my most embarrassing moment,” he says with a sigh, leaning back. Yachi frowns. “Ah, in our first practice match against Seijoh, I was so nervous I threw up on Tanaka-san in the bus.”

“ _Ew!_ ” Yachi shudders, shaking her head. She looks sick just thinking about it. “Hinata, that’s awful. I'd probably be sick if you were sick on me. Or even just seeing it.”

“It gets worse! I was a total mess in that first set. I was bumping into everyone and I even knocked over one of the officials and everything.”

“ _Hinata_ ,” she groans, facing red as she stares at him. “You’re making me feel so tense.”

“And then, worst of all, it was match point for Seijoh and it was my serve,” he continues, waving his hands. Yachi curls up into her knees. “I totally freaked out, got scared by the whistle, missed my serve completely and nailed Kageyama in the back of the head.”

“Oh no…”

“I thought he was going to kill me! Or worse, I’d be swapped out! I saw my volleyball life flash before my eyes.”

“Stop, stop. You’re going to give me a panic attack by proxy. If you have footage of that, never show me.”

“It’s ok, it was a practice match,” Hinata laughs. “No footage available. You only record official matches.” Yachi lets out a relieved sigh. “But, one good thing came out of it. See, Asahi-san said if you're nervous, you should think about the scariest thing to ever happen to you, and then remember nothing can be as bad as that. So, I just remember nailing Kageyama in the back of the head and his face and then I feel fine.”

Yachi tilts her head. “Oh. Yeah. I feel better about you leaving after that too.”

“Don’t feel too much better about it. You’ve got to miss me.”

Yachi ends up hurrying to the club room and comes back with a tablet in a bag. They sit together above the practice with the tablet resting on one leg each and each with an earbud to watch the Inarizaki match. The only distraction is the stray ball that comes flying up every now and again that Hinata bats away with ease. Yachi still freezes up for a moment too long when the ball comes tearing towards them but to Hinata it’s just like spiking. His eye catches the movement and his arm moves on his own to send them back over. 

Hinata’s never really watched one of his games like this. He’d almost forgotten what it’s like to watch a game on TV rather than from the sidelines or the seats or even a personal recording. When Coach Ukai goes through their opponents old games, it’s usually muted and chopped together from TV and personal recordings. Hearing the commentators and seeing the camera angles, it’s weird. He gets what Kageyama meant that first day outside the gym; how you can’t really tell from the angles on TV just how the plays are done and how complicated it all is. The cameras follow the ball more than the players. It’s not wide enough to give a proper view of the game like from the stands, but not close enough to give a perspective closer to that of the players. It’s frustrating to watch, actually.

“#7 Miya spent a lot of time looking at you between points,” Yachi says.

“I didn’t notice,” Hinata replies. “I was too busy glaring at him.”

“I noticed that too.”

“But, it’s my job to draw attention, right? So, if he was watching me, that means I was doing an awesome job.”

“I guess that’s true but...”

“Ahhh, Tsukki’s blocking was so good too.”

“Are you allowed to call him Tsukki?” 

“Only when he can’t hear me. But he was really scary. Did you hear him after that block? Could you hear us from there? He was so cool but so scary like-” he pushes down his hair into something sorta like Tsukishima’s fluffy curls “- ‘ _I’ve always wanted to stop one of those_ ’ or something, like a proper manga rival. I think he’s got it out for me and Kageyama.”

“You’ve only just noticed that? Your blocks were great too though.”

Hinata grins, turning his attention back to the game. He’s glad Yachi’s here. She’s always been surprisingly good at cheering them up. At least the first years. Perhaps because they haven’t spent as long with Shimizu as the older members.

Rewatching the game is pretty awesome. He can explain things to Yachi as they go and she ends up taking out a book to make notes. He’s not an expert, he’s not Kageyama or even his seniors, but he’s good enough to point out things of interest that might be useful notes for later. Even thought Coach Ukai had gone through the game with them, Yachi seems to appreciate hearing it from a players point of view and Hinata is all too happy to provide commentary for her. It’s fun to relive it too. His memories of the game become less of an awesome blur with a few moments standing out. Like hearing a song for the first time in years and suddenly remembering all the lyrics again. He hadn’t realized Nekoma was courtside watching after their own match for so long either. And there were plenty of cuts to other players around the sidelines like Bokuto, looking kinda pale, and Akaashi. He’s glad they all came to watch.

Kageyama’s serves were so on point in the second set too. Hinata can’t help being jealous. He needs to work on getting jump serves going. But, Hinata’s gaze keeps being pulled over to the Inarizaki side of the court. The team that might be his new team very soon.

Yachi squeaks and stiffens up as one of the Miya twins flubbed a serve and sent the ball flying. Somehow the cameras managed to get a fantastic shot - better than half the shots of the actual game so far - of her reaction as the ball slammed into the scoreboard right next to her. 

“I thought I was going to die,” Yachi whispers.

Hinata laughs and waves a hand. “Take it from someone who’s made an art of receiving with my face: it won’t kill you, it just hurts for a bit.”

“Don’t sound so proud of that,” she scolds and Hinata laughs more.

“You’ve got to own the joke, Yachi-san. Otherwise people are just laughing at you. Or worse, worrying about you.” 

“Why are your ‘ _or worse_ ’ options always the better option?”

“Are they?” 

Yachi sighs. “You’re getting better though, right? Your receives were really good through the third day.” 

“I definitely felt like I had a breakthrough,” Hinata replies.

“But…” Yachi says quietly. “If you can make jokes about this sort of thing to feel better about it… why not jokes about moving? Can you just go down there and laugh about it with the guys?”

“I can’t change it,” he explains. Yachi frowns. “With things like my receiving and my test results, I can change it, you know? I can laugh and go ‘ _wow I kinda sucked at that didn’t I?_ ’ because I know I’m putting in the hard work to get better and I’ll be able to look back and laugh too like ‘ _wow I kinda sucke at that didn’t I?_ ’ when I’m super awesome at it. But, things like my height and moving, I can’t change it, so I won’t be able to look back and laugh at how short I was when I’m tall, or how sad I was to leave you all when I’m back here.”

Yachi gives him an odd look, something close to pity but not quite but Hinata can’t work it out so turns back to the game. Setter Miya really is pretty amazing. The entire team is. Hinata does his best to pick out the first and second years among them that he might have to interact with. They can’t pick up much of what he says, but he’s laughing and smiling a lot, when he’s not arguing. His smile after that super low crouched toss was dazzling. Hinata wonders if Kageyama can set like that. Or smile like that. He’s been getting better at the smiling thing. Maybe by the time he’s Miya’s age he’ll manage a smile like that. And, whenever the twins pull off one of their minus tempo attacks, Hinata thinks they look at each other and cheer a lot like he and Kageyama probably do from the other side of the net.

And then there’s his _glorious_ receive. Hinata can still feel the sting of the ball on his arms. The rush of saving such a game changing moment. All his hard work paid off.

Yachi bumps his arm gently. “Nice receive, Hinata.”

Hinata grins.

And he hadn’t realised everyone looked so down after that rally. Huh. He’d been so happy with his own success he hadn’t noticed. And everyone seemed fine when they got back on the court. Weird.

Yachi’s right though. Everytime there’s a shot of the twins from an angle where you could see their faces, they do seem to be watching either him or Kageyama. And it really was in that strangely hungry sort of way.

“Oh, oh here,” Yachi says as they’re shaking hands at the net. “I wonder if the mics will pick it up.”

Hinata leans closer. The setter twin was at the net shaking hands with Kageyama. And then he turned to past-Hinata on the court with his back to him. The mics definitely pick it up.

‘ _Shouyou-kun._ ’

Shouyou-kun? Bit familiar. But then, he seems to be familiar with Kageyama too.

And half of Nekoma seems to call him Shouyou too and he’s never formally introduced himself to many of them. He’s never felt the need to complain about that. It’s probably because Kenma just calls him Shouyou. And it’s better than what else they - Kuroo in particular - call him by. It's not like he minds being called Shouyou by other players, but one match with barely any words seems a bit much. Although, he supposes volleyball is where he connects with people most. Maybe it is ok.

‘ _I’ll set for ya one of these days._ ’

The commentators continue, something about a display of sportsmanship and the future but Hinata’s gone. He’s pulled the earbud out and curls up, pressing his hands to his burning hot face. That’s a perfectly normal thing for a setter to say to a hitter he’s interested in, right? It’s not weird. So why’s it making his heart race and his face burn with embarrassment? 

Maybe because he’s never had a setter other than Kageyama and Sugawara. Kageyama hadn’t wanted him. He hadn’t wanted to be on the same team as him. He doesn’t really know if Kageyama _wants_ to work with him even now, if he’s totally honest. But, Miya wants to toss for him. Actually him. Not because he’s the only one who can keep up or the only one around, but because he’s _him_.

Miya wants _him_.

“Are you ok, Hinata?” Yachi says in a desperate whisper. 

“It’s embarrassing,” Hinata whines.

“Is it?!” she cries. “Everything _actually_ embarrassing you’ve done and _this_ is what gets you?!”

“Are you guys sure you’re ok?” Coach Ukai calls.

“Hinata’s dying of embarrassment,” Yachi replies. “For some reason. I’m not really sure why. It’s not even embarrassing, it’s sweet.”

“Hinata’s got the mind of a child,” Tsukishima says. “Of course he finds something sweet embarrassing.”

“Like a child hiding behind their hands when the heroes kiss in movies,” Tanaka says like its sage advice. “Does Hinata even understand the wonder of women?”

“Hey!” Hinata cries, leaning over the rails and glaring down at them. His face is burning with embarrassment but he's not letting that slide. “I totally appreciate beautiful girls. Shimizu-san was really, really pretty. And Yachi-san is very cute.” 

Nishinoya and Tanaka nod enthusiastically. 

“Hinata!” Yachi wails. “Now I’m embarrassed!”

“See, see, it’s totally ok to be embarrassed when someone says they’re interested in something about you.”

Hinata realizes how that sounds almost the moment it's out of his mouth. And, of course, Nishinoya and Tanaka don’t miss it. 

“Shouyou!” 

“Hinata!”

“Did you get confessed to?!”

Hinata groans. “It’s not like that-”

“It sort of is,” Yachi says.

“It’s not! How is it?!”

“I think practice has just been totally derailed,” Takeda laughs.

“Well, I suppose it’s the last day,” Ukai says. “Alright, let’s call it a day. Hinata can come down and gossip while you’re doing cool down stretches.”

Well, there’s no getting out of it now. He follows Yachi down and helps her collect balls and clean up while the others cool down. They’re watching him as he does. He knows that. Even Tsukishima’s mask of disinterest is slipping. Kageyama is just outright glaring. It’s tempting to throw a jab his way about being jealous, but then Hinata hasn’t actually been confessed to. Not really.

And then, eventually, there’s nothing left to really do. Yachi nudges him gently and Hinata steps forward towards the group doing their stretches.

“Umm…”

“Gonna tell us about your girlfriend yet, Shouyou?” Nishinoya laughs. “I didn’t know you had it in you. I guess I really am the best teacher, huh?”

“It’s not really not like that,” Hinata sighs. He’s got the last volleyball in his hands as he sits with the team, spinning it absently between his palms. “And- and even if it was… it’s not a girl…”

There’s a collective ‘ _ooooh_ ’ between the team - even Tsukishima sits forward a little - and Hinata finds himself hiding behind the volleyball, trying to stop his face flushing more. Did they really get here from volleyball talk? #7 Miya saying he wanted to toss for him is nothing like a confession!

“So, a guy confessed,” Nishinoya says, “and you’re not sure what to do about it? I get that. There aren’t many guys who-”

Ennoshita puts a hand over Nishinoya’s mouth. “Now now, let’s not overwhelm him.”

“But, it’s our job as senpais to teach him-”

“I’m sure,” he says, putting his other hand over Tanaka’s mouth, “but he’s totally overwhelmed and you two aren’t going to help that.”

“You two are the last thing the oblivious idiot needs,” Tsukishima says and Yamaguchi nods. 

“So,” Ennoshita says. “He confessed. What did you do?”

Hinata’s shoulders slump. He might as well play along to get this conversation over with, right? Maybe they are sorta the same and he’ll get some insight on how to deal with setter Miya. “Nothing. He just sorta said it and walked away.”

“Ahh,” Nishinoya says, getting loose. “The old ‘ _I don’t need you to say it back, I just wanted you to know_ ’. Classic.”

“Is it?” Tsukishima and Yamaguchi sigh.

“Is it?” Kageyama says with far more honesty.

“It is!”

“So, what are you going to do?” Yamaguchi says quietly. 

“Why does he have to do anything?” Kageyama says. “If the guy walked away, he doesn’t need Hinata to say something. Does he?”

“You really do have a volleyball for a brain,” Tsukishima mutters.

“Can we not?” Hinata says, finally looking out from under the volleyball. “There are most important things to talk about.”

“There are,” Yachi says.

The group glances between them before Yamaguchi gasps. “You two aren’t dating, are you?!”

“ _No_!” they both cry.

“This is more important than dating!” Hinata says.

“What’s more important than dating?” Tanaka says.

“Volleyball, of course,” Kageyama replies. 

“Exactly!” Hinata says, nodding quickly.

“You’re both hopeless,” Tanaka sighs.

“I’m not gonna be here next year.” 

There’s total silence in the gym. They’re all staring at him. Even Coach Ukai and Takeda are watching intently. Well, he’s taken the plunge. Now he has to push on. He’d feel worse if he just didn’t say anything and left, wouldn’t he?

He can’t even look at Kageyama right now. He knows he’s glaring.

“It was decided before Nationals but it was sorted out so I could stay until everyone’s graduation. We’re moving. We’re leaving Miyagi. I couldn’t figure out the right time to tell you guys without bringing down the mood or interrupting training for Nationals or making everyone more upset about Graduation or… But, I couldn’t leave without telling you all!”

The silence hangs heavy around them.

“Umm-”

“Where?” Kageyama says.

“Other side of Tokyo,” Hinata replies.

“Tokyo?!” Nishinoya repeats.

“The _other side_ -”

“You’re not joining Nekoma, are you?” Tanaka says.

“No-”

“I’ll tell Tora to kick Lev’s ass if he tries to bully you, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, but-”

“You can totally take Lev, Shouyou,” Nishinoya agrees. “Show him who’s the best middle blocker around here. His height doesn't mean anything!”

Hinata nods despite himself. “I could definitely kick Lev out of his spot.”

“With that smug bastard gone, there’s a middle blocker spot open anyway,” Tsukishima says.

“I’m so glad you and Kuroo-san ended up such good friends,” Yamaguchi says.

“Is that really how he shows his friendship with someone?” Tanaka laughs. “You must really love us.”

“Anyway, it’s not Nekoma,” Hinata says. “It’s the _other side_ of Tokyo. And I think Kenma would quit volleyball all together if he had to be my setter.”

“I didn’t realize that was an option,” Kageyama says.

“So replacing Bokuto at Fukurodani then?” Nishinoya says.

Hinata honestly doesn’t know if they’re not listening or are trying to cheer him up by being ridiculous. It’s kinda working whether they’re doing it on purpose or not.

“Akaashi-san’s a great setter,” Ennoshita says.

“He was keeping up with me pretty well in the third gym practices,” Hinata says with a nod. “And he’s used to Bokuto-san.”

“I said that earlier,” Yachi says.

“I could totally replace Bokuto-san! I’d be the most awesome top five ace ever! Especially with Akaashi-san to support me!”

“Bokuto says he’s thrilled with your choice,” Tsukishima says. Hinata turns. He’s got his phone from somewhere without even moving. Where’d he keep that while he was practicing? He hadn’t even gone for his jacket. “But Akaashi says if you transfer to Fukurodani he’s transferring here. Apparently Bokuto was exhausting enough and he’s taking the year off from excitable aces.”

“That’s so rude!” Hinata declares.

“Deal,” Ennoshita says. “We’ve got a trade.”

“ _Rude_!” 

“We don’t need another setter,” Kageyama says.

“I didn’t realise you and Akaashi-san were so close,” Yamaguchi says with a tilt of his head.

“I’m in a chat with Bokuto, Akaashi and Kuroo,” Tsukishima replies. “They forced it upon me after training together.”

“Separate to the main training camp one?”

“Yep.” Yamaguchi frowns at him. “As if anyone can keep up with that one. There’s over fifty people. It’s chaos. I had to mute it. I don’t want to talk with many people anyway. I’m fine with the one friend I picked and the handful of friends who’ve forced themselves into my life.”

“No wonder you never answer us in that chat.”

“It’s mostly Kuroo and Bokuto making terrible jokes and sending memes. And a surprising amount of complaining about Yakkun.”

Nishinoya snorts. “You’re calling Morisuke Yakkun now? You’ve got some balls, Tsukki.”

“That’s what they call him. I’ve barely exchanged two words with him and he’s graduated now anyway. I’m safe.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve got friends outside of me at last, if nothing else,” Yamaguchi says.

“You sound like his mother,” Tanaka laughs before turning to Hinata again. “So, the other side of Tokyo?” Hinata nods. “Then… next time we meet it’ll be at Nationals.”

“I guess so,” Hinata says quietly.

“They have a volleyball team, right?” Kageyama snaps. “You’re not going to spend another two years without a coach and team, right?”

“No, I checked,” he replies, waving one hand, spinning the volleyball with the other. “They have a team and a coach.”

“Any good?” Nishinoya says.

“Is there actually any chance you’ll meet us at Nationals?” Tanaka says.

Hinata nods. “They’ve made it a few times and they’re always pretty well placed in their prefecture.” 

“Then we’ll meet you there,” Kageyama says. 

“Whatever team you’re going to, we’re adding you to our list of rivals,” Ennoshita chuckles. 

“Along with almost every other team we’ve ever met,” Tsukishima says. “What is it now? Nekoma, Fukurodani, Seijoh and Date Tech. And that’s off the top of my head.” He frowns and tilts his head. “And Inarizaki too, I suppose. From a setter point of view. Their setter did say he wanted to steal away our decoy, after all.”

Hinata stiffens, shifting the grip on the volleyball to hide behind it again. 

“That’s right!” Tanaka says, pumping his first. “We can’t let that kind of insult slide. No way could some pretty boy twin setter ever steal Hinata off us!”

Tsukishima scoffs. “Not like it mattered in the end. It was all sorted before Nationals, so it’s not like Hinata’s leaving because of that, right?”

Hinata’s glances at Tsukishima, who smirks back in that way only Tsukishima can. He’s getting a strange sinking feeling. 

“Either way, we’re going to miss you a lot,” Takeda says. Hinata smiles up at him, a lump starting to tighten his throat. “How about we all go get something to eat? So we can all say goodbye properly.”

They lock up together and Hinata joins everyone in the clubroom. It’s the last time he’s going to be in here. He has to make sure he’s got all his stuff too. It’s weird. Daichi, Sugawara and Asahi’s stuff is all gone and now he’s clearing out his things too. The room’s starting to look pretty empty. 

“Oh yeah, Hinata,” Tanaka says as he’s heading out the door. Something about giving Kageyama and him a moment and meeting them at the gate. “That guy, or any guy, or any girl for that matter- Anyone breaks your heart, but I’ll kick their ass. Or, you know, if it’s a girl, get a girl to kick her ass for me. But yeah-”

“I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say, Tanaka-senpai,” Hinata laughs sheepishly.

Tanaka clutches at his chest and starts tearing up. “I’m going to miss that so much.”

“Miss… what...?” he replies.

“You calling me senpai. The new first years won’t be the same.”

“What he was trying to say, Shouyou,” Nishinoya says, “is that any guy breaks your heart and we will travel to wherever you are and beat him up for you. And we could probably get half of Nekoma and maybe even Date Tech to help out.”

“Exactly,” Tanaka says, nodding quickly. “And if it’s a girl, we’ll get the girl’s team to help.”

They head out, leaving Hinata waving awkwardly. He’s not really sure what to make of that. He should be touched, right? They’re all willing to go to such lengths for him? Even though it’s really nothing like that. He sighs, leaning next to the door as Kageyama finishes changing. He’s really not sure what they all think his moment with Kageyama is supposed to be. He’s not sure why they’d need a moment. They’re not going to practice tosses or spikes or anything.

Kageyama picks up his bag, taking what he doesn’t want left for the break and approaches slowly. He stops in front of Hinata. There’s silence between them. The noise from the world around them is muffled and unclear. The voices of the team. The quiet sound of evening birds and soft rustle of the wind. What’s he supposed to say here? He’s not even really sure what him and Kageyama are. Sometimes he thinks they’re friends. Or partners. Sometimes he thinks Kageyama couldn’t care less if he was there or not. 

Kageyama purses his lips and narrows his eyes. Perhaps he’s as lost as Hinata. What are they supposed to say to each other? How can they properly sum up the insane year - maybe more if they count their first meeting - they’ve had together?

“Kageyama-”

“I’m not very good at communicating,” Kageyama says. 

Hinata nods. That’s kinda an understatement. 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say here,” he continues. Hinata nods again and straightens up a little. “Obviously everyone thinks I should say something though.”

“Well, how do you feel?” Hinata says quietly, tucking his hands behind him against the wall. “Like, just say whatever comes to mind or whatever. I know you suck at this stuff so I’m not gonna hold anything against you.”

Kageyama presses his lips together, eyes narrowing a bit further. “I’m pissed off.”

Well, Hinata isn’t really sure what else he was expecting.

“You’re my spiker-”

“I’m a middle blocker,” Hinata says. 

“That’s not the point,” Kageyama snaps. “You’re supposed to- you’re my- you the only one who’s ever-” 

He clenches his jaw and jerks his head aside. Yeah, he really sucks at communicating any thoughts that aren’t volleyball, doesn’t he? And even then, he’s just blunt and tactless. Hinata briefly wonders if setter Miya is any better at talking like a human being.

“Damn it.”

Kageyama drops his bag and surges forward.

One hand cups Hinata’s face. The other braces against the wall next to his head. And Kageyama’s lips press to his. 

Hinata goes stiff. Kageyama’s _kissing_ him. This is the point in movies and manga where he grabs Kageyama’s hair and pulls him closer and kisses him back, right? Where the world goes into slow motion and suddenly everything makes sense? It doesn’t feel that much different to that moment when their quick comes together perfectly and the ball sinks right into his palm and slams down onto the court. It doesn't feel like a world stopping moment any more than that.

Just as he reaches up to return the kiss, Kageyama pulls back.

Hinata blinks at the space between them now. He’s a bit lost now. Kageyama is as hard to make sense of as always.

“Are we dating now?” 

It’s all Hinata can think to say. 

“Obviously not,” Kageyama replies.

“Oh good,” Hinata sighs. Kageyama shoots him an unimpressed look as he picks up his bag again. “We can barely get through a set without fighting, I don’t know how we could manage a relationship.”

“Maybe distance would make it easier,” he says, folding his arms. Hinata almost laughs. Is he really so competitive that he'll argue for something he doesn’t even want? “I could just mute you when you got annoying.”

“But we’re not dating?”

“No. I just don’t know how to put into words what this year playing with you has meant to me.” Hinata grins. “You’re a pretty awful player who’s only just become competent, but… but it was fun. I had fun. And you proved hitters can hit my fast tosses. And I learnt a lot adjusting to your stupidity. I hope you find a setter who can match you, wherever you end up.”

“I hope you find a someone as awesome as me too,” Hinata replies.

“And I win,” Kageyama says, heading out.

“Huh?!”

“I kissed you first,” he says. “And that was definitely your first kiss.” 

“What’s that got to do with anything?!”

“And if you say anything about this, I’ll serve at your face every time when we next meet. And I will have full control of my serve by the Inter-High.”

“My receiving will be perfect by the time of the Inter-High too. So serve away.” 

“How are you always the last one out?” Kageyama says from outside the door. Hinata grabs his stuff and runs after him. “You didn’t even have to change.”

“Hey!”

Hinata runs after him and falls into step beside him as they head to the gate.

They walk slowly through Karasuno together, Hinata in the middle of the group. He’s pleasantly surprised Tsukishima even sticks with them. He could understand with the third years, but he’s glad Tsukishima considers him enough of a friend to stay and say goodbye. 

And so, for the second night in a row, Karasuno’s boy’s volleyball team sits outside Coach Ukai’s store crying and laughing into meat buns as they prepare to say their final goodbye to each other. Hinata plays up his offence when most stories end up being about how bad he was at the start of the year. How many balls he took to the face. Knocking off the vice principal’s wig. Yachi looks confused and terrified by a lot of it. There are a lot of stories to catch her up on. 

It’s late and dark by the time they’re ready to call it a night. Nishinoya pushes his phone into Takeda’s hands and gathers everyone into frame whether they - mostly Tsukishima - want to or not. Nishinoya says he’ll send it to the group chat later and makes Hinata promise to keep in touch and send them lots of pictures too. Then the group starts to break apart slowly, everyone going their separate ways as they reach the point where they head off on their own paths. All Hinata can do is accept hugs or high fives or fist bumps and the promises that they won’t forget him. And try to hold back tears.

“Honestly though,” Tsukishima says quietly. He’s walking next to Hinata while Kageyama and Yamaguchi are ahead with Tanaka. “In a fight between Miya Atsumu and the idiots, my money’s on the idiots.”

Hinata’s shoulders go stiff and his head jerks up to stare at Tsukishima. “What?”

“And make sure you tell that annoying middle with the weird core strength and range that I will block him completely next time,” he replies. Hinata’s jaw drops and Tsukishima smirks down at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell them. It’s far more fun to have a secret to lord over them.”

“I suddenly understand why you and Kuroo-san are such good friends,” Hinata mutters. He sighs and gazes up the road. “This is me. Unless you guys wanna walk over the mountain with me?”

He pulls his bike over the side of the road at their apologies that they’ll let him go. Of course, he never expected them to see him all the way home. He’s amazed Tsukishima and Yamaguchi have come this far with them. They’re usually the first to walk away into the darkness of the town. Tanaka grabs him before he can get on and pulls him into a tight hug. Hinata thinks Tanaka might be crying, but doesn’t say anything about it. 

“Practice hard, ok Hinata?” he rasps. “But not too hard. Don’t overwork yourself. Be good to your new captain. And be a great senpai to all your first years, ok?”

“I will, I will, Tanaka-senpai,” Hinata laughs softly and pats his shoulder. Tanaka definitely sobs at that. “I’ll be the best senpai. I'll make you proud.”

“Remember your basics,” Kageyama says. He holds out a fist to Hinata and somehow Hinata manages to get around Tanaka’s overbearing affection to bump it. “And keep your body behind the ball.”

“I will.”

“And don’t ever forget to hit the ball again or I will come and find you and make you apologize to your setter in more and more humiliating ways until you get it through your head.”

“Yeah, well- well you don’t get all inside your head again or I’ll come and tell your new first years to refuse to hit your sets, ok?”

Kageyama smirks. “Deal.”

“Hinata,” Yamaguchi says and Hinata turns to him. “Work hard on your serves, ok?”

Hinata nods and pries Tanaka off him. He’s holding back his tears, insisting he’s not crying, as Hinata swings on to his bike. He grins back at them as if he’s not on the verge of tears himself and then turns to the road. 

“Hinata.” He turns at Tsukishima’s voce. He’s already started walking away. He glances back and meets Hinata’s gaze. “Thank you.”

Hinata’s jaw drops. “For- for what?”

“For not being the Tiny Giant.” Hinata’s not entirely sure what that means but the way Yamaguchi’s eyes widen and a smile lights up his face means it’s something important. “And, playing with you, it wasn’t awful.”

Well, coming from Tsukishima, Hinata will take that as the highest praise. He grins and nods his thanks before pushing off on his bike and starting power his way up the hill. Tanaka’s goodbyes echo after him and Hinata yells back until they can’t hear each other's voices anymore.

By the time Hinata reaches home, he’s exhausted and aching and barely able to breathe through the sobs threatening to rip from his throat. So much of his life here in Miyagi is packed up in boxes ready to move. Hinata drops his bags in his room, gazing down at the new uniform sitting on his desk. Inarizaki High School. 

His phone buzzes and Hinata lifts it slowly. The group chat is exploding. He opens it up, dread settling over him. Nishinoya has sent the picture as he promised. They all look so happy. Hinata's chest hurts. He saves the picture straight away before looking down at the chat. They’ve dropped the bomb that Hinata is leaving and the former third years are pretty mad he didn’t say anything before they left. Even the other teams in the chat are alive with it. He tries not to be too offended by Akaashi’s horror that Tsukishima might not have been kidding about him coming to Fukurodani. There are good luck wishes from everyone to go with it.

Hinata sighs and mutes the chat. Maybe he gets why Tsukishima does it. He can’t handle it right now. He sinks down against the door, finally giving into the sobs he’d been trying to hold back. 

The door vanishes without warning and Hinata squawks as he falls back. Natsu is glaring down at him with tears in her eyes and wobbling bottom lip. Hinata stares up at her. For a long moment neither move, until Natsu collapses onto her knees and buries her head in his chest. Her shoulders are shaking and there’s a wet patch forming as she bunches her hands in his shirt.

“You’re too loud,” she whispers. “Shut up, ok?”

“Ok,” Hinata replies. He rubs away his tears and puts a hand on her hair. “Ok, Natsu.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu has been captain for less than a day and Suna has already lead a mutiny that sees him locked out his own club room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I like to get the first few chapters out pretty quick to get down the solid idea of where we're going (I've got about 10 chapters pre-written, they're not all gonna come out this fast). This entire chapter was just me vs accents and trying to remember to use it and Atsumu vs his club. Also, I write the Miyas swearing pretty liberally, most at each other, sorry if that's not your thing.

Atsumu’s third year is not kicking off to the grand start he’d hoped it would.

“Why didn’t ya wake me up?” Atsumu snaps, barely making it to the stop as the bus pulls in. “Yer such a dick, ‘Samu.”

“I did wake ya,” Osamu replies, getting onto the bus. He swipes his pass and Atsumu follows. “I got told to fuck off. So I did.” 

They slump in seats next to each other and Atsumu grabs his phone. “How’s my hair?”

“Obnoxiously bright,” he says.

Atsumu shoots him a glare before opening up his phone and checking his hair on the screen. He’d had to rush out this morning because Osamu decided to be an ass and do as Atsumu told him for the first time in his life. Luckily, he’s naturally stunning and a few quick adjustments has his hair perfect again. And with that done, Atsumu grabs his bag and pulls a stack of papers from inside.

“Here, help with these,” he says, shoving half the stack at Osamu. 

“What am I doing?” Osamu says. He flicks through the papers. “These are the early applications for the club?”

“Yeah, Kita-san gave ‘em to me before graduation to look over,” Atsumu says. “The guys who got in because of volleyball recommendations. Means they’re basically ours without any say in the matter.”

Osamu smiles. It's not his nice smile. “Most of ‘em’ll be lucky to be benchwarmers.” 

“Go through 'em for me anyway,” he says. “I’m thinking we’ll have a team pool on who’s getting a uniform, so we gotta read up on them first to make sure we get ahead.”

“Great captaining.”

“It’s team bonding. Ah, Kita-san said there’s a second year in there somewhere.” 

“Weren't'cha supposed to do this during the break?”

“Probably. Anyway, just put any interesting ones aside or fold ‘em over or mark ‘em or something.”

Atsumu isn’t paying too much attention to the applications he’s looking through. The coach is the one with the final say on things like the team line up and how they train, but Atsumu has to look after them as well. He has to get to know them and their habits and tendencies ect. Kita had given him a long list of responsibilities and tried to teach him how to be a ‘ _proper_ ’ captain before he left.

A few stops on, Suna joins them. He slumps in front of them, bag between his legs and feet on the seat so he can face them. Suna might always look bored and uninterested in them and glued to his phone, but he always comes to sit with them. Honestly, he should be less of a coward and just admit he likes them rather than excuses about just wanting to be around for their latest screw up.

“Wanna help?” Atsumu says, taking a handful of forms from his stack and Osamu’s. “Early applicants.” 

“What’s in it for me?” Suna says without looking up.

“I won’t tell Kita-san yer giving me grief on my first day as captain,” he replies.

“Really?” he mutters. “You’re resorting to ‘ _I’m telling mom_ ’ already?”

“Gonna be my go to threat,” he says with a grin. Suna glances at him and Atsumu holds out the papers. “He said I could come to him for help at any time. And I will. So here.” Suna gives him a flat look before taking the application forms. “There’s a second year in one of our piles.”

“What do we get for finding him?” 

“Are there managers in these or is that a separate pile?” Osamu says.

“What'dya care about managers anyway?” Atsumu replies. “We never keep 'em.”

“They’re nice to look at for the month before they’re kicked out,” Suna says.

Atsumu sighs. “Y'know that’s why we never get to keep 'em-” 

“ _Oh_.” Osamu and Atsumu glance up. Suna’s smiling. “Found him.”

“Interesting?” Osamu says. 

“Maybe,” Suna says and folds up the form and puts it in his bag.

“Definitely then,” he says.

“You _did not_ just steal that,” Atsumu snaps.

Suna glances at him. “You’re going to embarrass yourself and I’m going to be there to document every glorious moment of it. And Osamu’s going to be there to laugh at you.”

Atsumu narrows his eyes and Osamu tilts his head. Well, now Atsumu absolutely has to know who the second year is and why Suna’s stealing his form. Almost definitely someone they know. Must have been someone they’ve played. Or at least someone noticeable from another school. Their school is pretty elite. Transferring in is pretty much impossible. Atsumu would never have made it if he hadn’t been invited because of volleyball. He’s pretty sure the same goes for half the team. Most the team. Except Kita, because Kita is living proof that being perfect is boring.

Atsumu instantly feels guilty for that thought and sends off a quick apology text to Kita - although he’s not so whipped he’s going to give context to the apology.

The point is that for a second year to get in on a volleyball recommendation, he’s either _really_ good or really close with a god tier donor. That Suna is hiding him definitely means he’s someone they know and he thinks he’s going to cause a reaction. So now Atsumu is definitely going to be spending all day thinking about who it could be. He’s going to be running down lists of first years he met last year, who stood out and who he might react to enough to have Suna so pumped - for Suna, at least.

And from the amused light in Suna’s eyes - the only sign of interest on his otherwise bored face - having Atsumu thinking in circles might have been the reason he took the form. It’ll turn out to be some nobody, Atsumu will explode and Suna will record it all and do his smirky not actually a smirk thing because Atsumu got himself wound up over nothing. 

“Y'know what,” Atsumu says, “just for that, yer in charge of recruiting. I’ll get one of the girls from the cheer squad to help ya though, because I’m kind like that.”

“Like hell you are,” Suna sighs. “This is exactly what I was trying to get away from.”

“Why are ya here anyway?” Osamu says, giving Atsumu a break from over thinking and glaring. “This isn’t your route. Why’ve ya suddenly changed?”

“ _Fans_ ,” he mutters with a slightly disgusted curl to his lips. _Oh_. It’s an expressive day today, huh? “Some of the new first years in the dorms are _fans_. I’ve been bothered by them for days.” 

“Then you know some of the new starters already? Any of them catch your eye?”

Suna shrugs. If Suna hadn’t met the new second year yet, then he’s not in dorms. He’s a lot of awful things, but Suna is a gossip and a new second year in the dorms would be all over the group chat the moment Suna saw him. That means he’s from the area, he’s close enough to commute in, or his parents were willing to uproot their entire lives to move prefectures for their son’s volleyball career like Suna’s parents weren’t. And if that’s the case, good for them, honestly. Despite their parents giving him and Osamu every advantage in volleyball, he wonders if moving would be a step too far. Would they have just been sent to dorms like Suna if they hadn’t been so close to an elite school?

“New starters are bad enough,” Suna says, “but there’s a few girls from the band who are definitely stalking me. So, new bus route. It’s only a five minute walk out my way. Let them stalk the normal bus stop and I’ll risk being infected by your stupidity for safety.”

“If I hadn’t already put ya on new recruit duty, I would be for that,” Atsumu says.

There’s no morning practice today, but the three of them wander through the school gates together and head straight to their club room. Suna grumbles about not thinking he’s replacing Aran as their straight guy but they don’t pay much attention to that. There’s chaos inside the clubroom next door. Atsumu knocks on the slightly open door.

“Ya ok, Ami-chan?”

“Fine,” Ami replies from inside. “Just fine. Thanks, Atsumu-san. Just-” there’s a slam and Ami groans “- can’t get into my locker.”

The new captain of the girls volleyball team is nervy and jumpy and basically the opposite to Kita. He and Osamu had gone to middle school with her. Fantastic player, even Atsumu would admit that, but totally lost it under pressure. It’s probably not going to be a Nationals year for their very hit and miss girls team. Shame. If the school put as much effort into the girls as they did the boys they’d be unstoppable. It's a cycle that's hard to break out of, better funding lead to better results lead to better funding and vice versa.

“Good luck this year, Ami-chan.”

Atsumu opens their clubroom. He frowns at it. Maybe he should start a cleaning rota for the first years. Kita always cleaned the club room as part of his stupid therapeutic routine or whatever. After being used to that, he’s not sure he can live without it. 

“I sorta wanna leave the old lockers as they are for them,” Osamu says, pausing by Kita and Aran’s lockers. “At least while we have space.”

“Depends how many new kids we get, I guess,” Atsumu says with a shrug. “Remember our first year where all the first years had to share unless they were regulars?”

“I’m so glad I didn’t have to share with you wo,” Suna says. 

He dumps his bag on the bench with the twins’ stuff and starts sliding the name cards from the lockers. Atsumu and Osamu do the same, working through the lockers until all they're all nameless. But they pause at the old third years’ lockers. It’s Suna who steps forward and pulls out the name cards.

“We don’t need memories,” he says. 

He goes to throw them out but Atsumu catches his hand. “Right. We push forward.”

He grabs some tack and a blank card. Osamu’s gonna laugh at him for being sentimental but it feels right. He picks one of the best lockers and sticks the name cards to the door. All their former third years, even the ones who never made the regular team. And rather than a name on the card he put into place, it reads ‘ _be amazing for them_ ’.

When he steps back, Osamu and Suna are staring at him. 

“I know it’s dumb,” he snaps before they can say something rude, “but I’m the captain now, so I say it stays. I think Kita-san would approve.” 

“Yeah,” Suna says.

“He would,” Osamu says. 

There’s a moment of silence before Suna turns away. “It’s horribly sappy though.”

“Real soft of ya,” Osamu says. “Who knew ya had a heart?”

“It’s disgusting really,” Suna says.

“Yer an embarrassment.”

“Yer terrible friends!” Atsumu snaps.

“Not your friend,” Suna says. “I’m your teammate and that’s not by choice.”

“I’m yer brother,” Osamu says. “Also, not by choice.”

“Fuck the both of ya,” Atsumu grumbles.

The three of them put their name cards in the prime lockers. There are seven full length lockers, enough for the starting line up and libero, and now they’re third years - and he’s captain - they’re theirs. There’s no way the three of them aren’t making the regular team, after all. They put their things in their lockers, sticking pictures and articles and filling them with junk. He’s pretty sure he’s seen Suna fill his with auxiliary phone batteries and the amount of food in Osamu’s locker could feed the entire team twice over. They chat quietly - well, Atsumu chats, the other two reply when necessary - about which now second years will join them on the regular team, what numbers they want this year and which teams they want to play. They carefully avoid any mention of Karasuno - which means their wounded pride after their loss still outweighs their need to tease him about his last words to Shouyou. Standard volleyball stuff.

Suna sticks a picture of a girl to the inside of his locker door. The same girl he sticks there every year, although the pictures vary. Suna's little sister really does have all the cuteness of the family. This year she's in a volleyball uniform, drenched in sweat with a medal around her neck. Did her team win something big last year?

“Did ya go home during break?” Osamu says, glancing at the same picture.

“Only for a weekend,” Suna replies. “I'll see about going for longer during the sumer. This is my last year anyway.”

They nod and let the topic drop. Thankfully, it’s that moment that the door bursts open. The rest of the second and third years descend on them and the club room descends into the weird sort of chaos only a sports club room can. Atsumu finds himself having to stand on the bench and yell over the new year noise, making himself clear only people who wore a jersey last year get to call dibs on lockers and no one gets the two remaining full length ones without his say so. Getting control of this lot is gonna be a challenge. He's not got a naturally stern aura like Kita.

“Riseki-kun,” he calls. Riseki looks up. “Ya wanna do recruiting with Suna and the cheer squad?”

“I would, Atsumu-san,” Riseki replies, “but I’ve got a special job to do today. Ya see-”

“If it's the new second year, you can’t tell him,” Suna says.

“He’s captain,” Ginjima says. “Why doesn’t he know?”

“He’s Atsumu,” Osamu replies. “Why would he know?”

“You don’t know either,” Atsumu snaps.

“I’m not captain.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Kosaku says and a lot of the group agrees. 

“We’re gettin' a new second year on recommendation,” Riseki says. “I get to show him around. It’s going to be awesome to have him.”

“But, you can’t tell Atsumu,” Suna says. “It’s going to be great.”

“ _Ooooh_ ,” he says, nodding in understanding, “because Atsumu-san…”

There’s a lot of noise now. The team demands answers and Suna relents that if they’re going to stop Atsumu finding out they have to all know. 

And that’s how Atsumu ends up shoved out of his own club room with the door shut in his face, listening to the whispered, muffled voices, gasps and cackling laughter. Whoever’s coming, he definitely knows them and they’re all sure he’s going to have a fit over him. Who the hell is coming? Atsumu’s tempted to go stake out the school gate and see if anyone he recognizes turns up. 

“Atsumu-san?” He jerks around and finds a girl he sort of recognizes from the cheer squad frowning at him. She’s a pretty enough girl, a little plain, with her mousy brown hair in a bob and fox silhouettes on the clips holding back her bangs. “Everything ok?”

“Fine,” Atsumu huffs. “Just my team is having some kind of joke at my expense.”

“I suppose that’s good for team morale,” she offers. 

Atsumu shrugs. “Ah, we’re looking for some of the cheer squad to help with the recruiting, if any of yer girls are up for it. We could work together like last year.”

“I’ll ask everyone,” she says, nodding quickly.

The day is long and exhausting and boring. Atsumu sits in class, gazing out the window and tapping his pencil, his book angled to hide his phone. The group chat is chaos, as always, everyone excited about the new kid but not giving anything away. They’re all way too careful about that. Apparently it really is a big deal that they all want to see him react to whoever this new guy is. Atsumu has started writing a list of potential suspects. Riseki is not helping by keeping them all up to date with how the new transfer is doing. Apparently very awkwardly and nervously with lots of babbling and mistakes and that lets Atsumu cross a few people off his list. 

Atsumu even tries to pop around to Riseki’s classroom at lunch to see if he could spot the new transfer, or any clues, but all he found were the members of the volleyball club in that class had all vanished the moment they could and no one knew where they’d gone. Fuck Riseki and his stupid sense of duty.

Osamu is no good for lunch practice, he’s always too busy eating and while he’s sure Suna would come practice with him to get out of recruiting, he doesn’t want to take back his punishment on the first day as captain. So, Atsumu settles for grabbing a ball from the clubroom and just tossing it against the wall. Stupid Suna, getting in his head like this. Usually he’d grab one of the second years and drag them to practice with him - maybe just serve at them to get out his frustrations - but he doesn’t trust any of them right now. Maybe never again. His first day as captain and there’s already a mutiny. Fuck them all. He’s gonna be a great captain. Setter is basically captain anyway. Fuck them. And fuck this new kid. He doesn’t care anymore. He’s over it.

He’s totally not over it. 

Atsumu spends the rest of the afternoon stewing. This is probably going to end up being taken out on the first years. Even he knows he’s awful in that regard. Well, if a captain can’t take out his frustrations by whipping useless first years into shape what’s the point of being captain?

He groans and sends off another apology text to Kita. 

And Kita, like the perfect being he is, quickly replies that if he knows he did wrong well enough to apologize then that’s the first step to improving so he won’t ask him to explain.

It’s sorta reassuring in that annoying sorta way; Kita will let him apologize when he messes up without needing him to explain himself. Just a support net that Atsumu can say ‘ _shit I messed up_ ’ to and get reassurance that ‘ _just don’t do it again next time_ ’.

He debates asking Kita who the new second year is, but he’s pretty sure Kita will just tell him he should have read the applications. And then he’ll feel silently judged again. Even if he isn’t judging Atsumu, he’ll still feel it. Kita’s the definition of ‘ _I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed_ ’ even when he’s not around. 

It doesn’t help that the entire day there are whispers about Karasuno’s #10.

About _Shouyou_. 

Sometimes Atsumu hates that Inarizaki is a volleyball school. In a normal school, volleyball was the domain of the volleyball club and hardcore fans. In Inarizaki, volleyball fans made up a massive amount of the population. Not to mention the school went to length to make everything volleyball related. Like math and physics? Volleyball is all about angles and force and rebound and the spin of the ball. Interested in psychology? Look at how our athletes perform under pressure, the social interaction between players on their team and opposing teams, look at how Inarizaki’s cheer squad influences play. Almost everything at Inarizaki is slanted to help students find some kind of interest in volleyball, no matter how niche. 

But that means everyone is interested in volleyball gossip. When Atsumu messes up at Nationals, when Inarizaki loses, when something major happens, it’s not just the volleyball club and cheer squad who know, it’s the _entire school_. And apparently something has happened to _Shouyou_ that the entire school knows about. He catches whispers of ‘ _left Karasuno_ ’ and ‘ _because of Nationals?_ ’. Unfortunately, the second Atsumu is spotted listening, the conversation turns to him, not Shouyou. 

So he texts Kageyama last period, demanding to know why he’s hearing rumors Shouyou’s left the Karasuno team. 

Kageyama’s reply is pretty quick. The guy doesn’t pay attention in class either, huh? It’s not the answer he wants though. Kageyama doesn’t say much, just confirms it’s true.

Shouyou has left the Karasuno team. _Shit_. Because of Nationals? Because of his fall? He sends Kageyama another message for more details but gets nothing back. He can see how Shouyou’s fall at Nationals might have shaken him enough to pull him away from volleyball for a while. It’s not that uncommon. Collapsing in the middle of the quarterfinals like that, yeah, wouldn’t be easy on the best of them. Maybe it’s just a phase. Maybe he’ll recover on his own. They’ve all had their confidence knocked before. He doesn’t believe for a moment Shouyou could actually _quit volleyball_. He’ll be really disappointed if he’s really _quit_ and isn’t just having a wobble.

What’s he going to do if Shouyou isn’t playing anymore? How’s he going to have fun playing Karasuno if Shouyou isn’t there on the other side of the net full of that promise and sparkle that makes Atsumu’s heart race?

What’s he going to do if he never gets the chance to be Shouyou’s setter?

Suddenly Atsumu is having a _way_ bigger crisis that a mysterious second year and his team full of the worst personalities in the country. 

At least until he’s forced to deal with that team again after school.

Riseki - the tenacious little fucker he is - isn’t even in the locker room changing. He runs in, grabs his stuff and runs back out with only a yell over his shoulder that he’s changing with the first years. No doubt to keep an eye on the mysterious new second year. They’re all so damn dedicated to keeping this secret. Well, joke’s on them - Atsumu isn’t going to react at all. He’s going to take whatever surprise this is with grace and dignity.

There’s still no sign of Riseki and the second year by the time they're done with warm ups. The coaches join them with clipboards ready and their new potential managers are in the corner doing more staring and fawning than setting up.

“Have you looked through the new applications, Atsumu?” Coach Kurosu says. 

“Yep,” Atsumu replies, handing over the applications. “Me, ‘Samu and Suna went through ‘em. We dog-eared the ones we think are interesting.”

Kurosu nods and flicks through them and frowns at him. “He’s not one of the ones you're interested in?”

“We’re keeping him a surprise,” Osamu calls. “‘Tsumu doesn’t know.”

“I should really be used to you lot by now,” he sighs. “Alright, you can have your surprise, I’ll play along for now. It’ll be good to start the new year on a high after last year.”

“This year won’t be like last year,” Atsumu declares.

There’s a knock on the gym door and it opens to Riseki grinning through the small gap. “I’ve got the new sacrifices.”

“Don’t call them that,” Ginjima sighs.

“I remember how intimidating this is,” he replies. “Yer all really scary. Especially the chaos of it.” There’s something said behind him that Atsumu can’t make out and Riseki turns. “Ah, you shouldn’t get too intimidated by it then.”

“Alright, Riseki-kun, let them in,” Kurosu calls. “Line up, you lot.”

Riseki nods and pulls the door open fully, letting the first years pour in while the second and third years line up on the opposite side of the hall. Riseki is waiting by the door still and a quick glance over the group reveals lots of faces he knows, some of them were even at his middle school. No one he recognizes as a new second year. But Riseki hanging back and looking suspicious says he’s probably still hiding outside.

“Welcome to Inarizaki High Volleyball Club,” Coach Kurosu says, standing between them. Apparently he really _does_ give this speech almost word for word every year. “You all have recommendations that got you into our school, so you’ll be expected to be on the team for the year unless we dismiss you. Lots of students take that option to quit after their first year, but that just proves they were never cut out for this team to begin with. I don’t know what kind of school you came from or how familiar you are with our style and school but let me make two things clear: firstly, this is a competitive team. We rank highly in every tournament because of competition within the team itself. First year or third year means nothing. Whoever is best for the team is who goes on the team. Many of you will end up in the stands and never get a jersey. Having a jersey one year doesn’t guarantee you one another year. I explained this to all of you when I recruited you and by coming here, you’ve accepted that.”

It’s always fun to see the pissed off, stuck up kids realizing no one cares if they were an ace or star player at middle school. No one cares what awards they got. When they come to Inarizaki, they have to prove themselves again. They have to prove themselves on their stage. 

“Second, Inarizaki is a special kind of organized chaos. If you can’t handle that, you won’t make it onto the bench. If you let that fluster you, you will never manage at national level. Trust me when I say many of the best teams are as, if not more, chaotic as us.”

He definitely means Karasuno.

“So, I suppose the easiest way to explain how chaotic things can get, is to give you all a taste. Riseki-kun.”

“Yes sir!”

Riseki grins and steps out of the entrance to finally reveal the new transfer student. Suna has pulled his phone from somewhere and the first years are staring over their shoulders but the line of new players makes it impossible to see him yet. 

And then the first years part so the new transfer can step through with Riseki just behind. 

“Sh-Shouyo-kun?!” 

Shouyou turns a little and tilts his head, a sheepish smile lighting up his face. “Ah, Miya-san. Hi.”

Hi? 

_Hi?!_

Hinata Shouyou, Karasuno’s #10, spiker of Atsumu’s literal dreams, has just walked into his gym and joined his team and all he can say is _hi_?!

“What the hell, Shouyou-kun?!” Shouyou ducks behind Riseki, who glares at Atsumu and now he feels like a total dick but, fuck it, he’s gone this far, so he steps forward anyway. “Y'know when I said I was gonna toss for ya, I didn’t expect ya to follow me. I meant like, y'know, _after_ high school or somthin’!”

“You meant that?!” Shouyou cries, leaning out from behind Riseki. “I thought you were just being all cool after losing.”

Atsumu’s cheeks warm. “You thought it was cool?” 

Shouyou nods fiercely.

He thought he was cool!

“Ah, I mean, of course I _was_ cool,” Atsumu says, folding his arms and cocking his hip. “I just didn’t realise ya had enough taste to _realize_ how cool I am.”

“Smooth,” Osamu mutters.

“Nice cover,” Suna drawls.

Atsumu glares at the assholes he’s supposed to call his team. Bunch of dicks. Shouyou steps out from behind Riseki and straightens up a little. Not that it does much good. He’s still tiny. 

“Anyway,” Shouyou says, “I didn’t follow you or anything like that. I was already accepted here before Nationals. It was just destiny that we played each other and got to meet like that.”

“Destiny, huh?” Atsumu laughs. “Ya recovered from your fever and that fall?” 

Shouyou nods. “I’ve had to have a lower workload recently though. So I need to get back into condition for the hard stuff.”

“Then I’m gonna work ya 'til ya puke,” he says.

“Already done that,” Shouyou says, waving his hands. 

“Huh?”

“Ah, about this time last year, me and Kageyama got into this fight and long story short the vice principal’s wig ended up on our captain because Kageyama served _at my face_ and so we got kicked out the gym until we could work together and Kageyama challenged our senpais to a game and so we were gonna have a three on three at the end of the week with Tsukki and Yamaguchi and Kageyama said I sucked and he wouldn’t toss to me unless I was better at receiving and the day before game day I didn’t let the ball hit the ground for like twenty minutes straight and then he hit it waaaaay out and I had to go chasing after it and I got it back to him and he set it for me and it was a suuuuper big deal and Sugawara-san and Tanaka-senpai were like ‘ _no way can he get back to the net to spike it_ ’ and I was like _whoosh_ back to the net and _ba-bang_ with this awesome jump and slammed it down and it felt _so good_ , Kageyama’s tosses are always the best feeling! And then I puked on the gym floor because I overworked.”

Atsumu blinks at him. “Huh?!”

“Don’t you need to breathe?” Suna says.

“Is that how ya go that long on the court?” Osamu says. 

“Tobio-kun's tosses are always the best, huh?” Atsumu says, lifting his chin. 

Shouyou tilts his head, all innocence and cuteness that makes it almost impossible for Atsumu to keep glaring down at him. If this was about anything other than his pride as a setter, he’d probably be melting from cuteness overload right now, but no way do Tobio's tosses feel better than his!

“Well, yeah,” he says, like it’s no big deal. “Sugawara-san’s tosses are always full of care and always reliable. Noya-san's setting is always super fun and full of energy. Kenma is always great at throwing off blockers and giving me a clear path. And Akaashi-san’s really good at thinking on his feet and is really devoted to his hitters. Kogane’s sets are always suuuuuper high, because he’s really tall and it makes it so easy for me to hit. But… none of them ever felt as amazing as Kageyama’s.”

Atsumu’s fists clench against his arms. How dare Tobio have his dream spiker saying that kind of thing?! No way does Tobio have the best tosses. No way are they better than Atsumu’s!

“Just how many setters did Karasuno have?” Ginjima says. Atsumu glares over. “That's five other setters beyond Kageyama.”

Shouyou laughs and waves his hands. “Sugawara-san was #2, he was the setter before Kageayama arrived. Noya-san is the libero. The others are setters from other teams I’ve got to train with every now and again. Umm, the only one you’d probably know of is Akaashi-san; he's Fukurodani’s setter.”

“Why were ya training with _Fukurodani’s_ setter?” Osamu says.

“We had training camp with them and a bunch of other schools in their group. Me and Bokuto-san would practice spiking together with Akaashi-san setting for us and Tsukki, Lev and Kuroo-san would practice blocking against us.”

“Alright, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu says, glaring down at him. And Shouyou doesn’t disappoint him at all, stepping forward with no fear at all. “I really am gonna work ya to exhaustion. I’ll have ya hit my sets until ya go ‘ _wow, Atsumu-san’s tosses really are the best_ ’ or fall to yer knees begging for mercy, whichever comes first.”

Shouyou’s nose wrinkles in the most adorable way as he takes another step forward and his grin turns feral. “I won’t lose, Miya-san.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll have you toss for me until you go ‘ _gwaaah, Hinata really is the best to toss for_ ’ or fall to your knees begging for mercy, whichever comes first.” 

Shouyou steps right up to him and their height difference is at it’s most pronounced, but somehow Shouyou doesn’t feel small at all. It’s the same overwhelming presence that ensnared Atsumu from the other side of the court. And now it’s here right in front of him, all his to indulge in at his pleasure. He was right, Tobio really did have himself wrapped up in a terrifying partner. Atsumu’s made the same damn mistake already, but he can’t help grinning back.

“Ya really are a competitive brat, huh, Shouyou-kun.”

“If you say so, Miya-san,” Shouyou replies. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the overwhelming pressure vanishes and Shouyou is all innocence and sunshine again. “But, given you asked if I’d let you toss for me one day, I guess you already feel like that. So I guess I’ve already won, huh?”

Atsumu’s arms drop to his side. “What-”

“You know, everyone back at Karasuno thought it was like a love confession.”

“And that is where we’re leaving that,” Coach Kurosu says, calling his hands. 

Atsumu starts, spinning to glare at him. He’d just… _forgotten_ the world existed outside him and Shouyou…? Half the first years are looking terrified, like they’re about to faint, perhaps from the audacity of Shouyou, perhaps from their intensity, the other half look pissed. And the team’s second and third years are smirking or hiding laughter or grinning. _Shit_ , they actually managed to keeping fucking _Shouyou_ a secret from him.

“Hinata-kun,” Coach says. “Go join the second years.”

“Really?” Shouyou says, tilting his head. “Just like that?”

“I’ve already seen you play at Nationals,” he says, waving a hand. “I have a good idea what shape you’re in. And, I doubt it’s worth the tantrum Atsumu would throw if I decided to treat you like a new player.”

“Shouyou, over here,” Riseki says, leading Shouyou to the far end by the elbow. “With me.”

“I don’t throw tantrums,” Atsumu mutters, returning to the other end of the line. 

Osamu and Suna are looking smug as anything. At least Suna is polite enough to look totally bored, even if his eyes are alight with amusement, but Osamu, and half the rest of the team, are wearing the biggest, smuggest grins. 

Alright, alright, they got him. They totally got him. 

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s as bad as it gets,” Coach Kurosu says to the new first years. 

Well, at least that’s the truth. Him getting a bit competitive is far from the worst the team gets. 

The newcomers introduce themselves, and Shouyou managed to ruffle more feathers by mentioning he’d from the school that knocked Inarizaki out at Nationals, but they’ll get used to that too. None of the regulars are afraid of Shouyou or Karasuno. If anything, it’s pretty awesome to have one of Karasuno’s main point scorers on their side now.

They separate out the first years of interest, the ones Atsumu, Osamu and Suna had dogeared to work with last year's regulars, and the rest are split into small groups to work with the rest of the team. The managers are split between them to fetch and carry balls and fetch water. That’s when Atsumu snags Shouyou and takes him across to one of the spare courts in the corner. Riseki, Osamu and Suna follow. Although, when he questions Suna, he replies in typical Suna fashion that it’s work with him and Shouyou or work with the new kids and this seemed like less effort.

At least Riseki is there to handle the pair of wannabe managers that come hurrying over with balls and water. They’re not getting any time to fawn over them rather than pay attention to their work. Atsumu steps up to the net and Osamu joins Suna on the other side.

“We’ll block for you,” Suna says when Atsumu sends them a glare. 

“Once ya get yer eye in,” Osamu says. “No one expects ya to be perfect straight away.”

“That reminds me, Shouyou,” Riseki calls. “When Osamu-san and Atsumu-san were copying yer super speed quick-”

“It’s not _theirs_ ,” Atsumu snaps.

“- how come ya weren’t worried by blocking Osamu-san? If I had to block that quick I’d be a bit shaken up. I wouldn’t know where to start. Especially if I’d never played against it before.” 

“Lots of people have stopped our quick,” Shouyou replies, spinning a ball in his hands. “Nekoma were first. They shifted all their front line to block our main hitters, knowing I’d go where there aren’t any blockers, and then Inuoka, the fastest on the team, chased me. All he had to do was get a hand on it to slow it down. Coach Ukai told me to just be Inuoka. But, Miya-san’s got a lot more EXP than me as a hitter, so he could control the ball around me after the first few times and I’m not a very scary blocker by myself.”

“Definitely not,” Osamu says.

“I don’t have size and strength like Aone-san or this pressure like Kuroo-san or an ability to guess block like Tendou-san. So I had to think who was the most annoying blocker rather than scary. And I remember Seijoh’s #2 doing that to me in our Spring Tournament semifinal, it was a real pain in the ass to have my hits funneled into their libero every time. And we needed two blockers to do it to Ushijima-san and get him into our libero. I figured since it annoys me so much, it’d probably annoy people doing the same moves as me too.”

“It was annoying,” he says, nodding slightly. “Having my path narrowed like that and forced into that frustratingly good libero. How did a team like Karasuno get a libero like that?”

“Apparently because it was close to his home, the boys’ uniform is all black and the girls’ uniform appeals to his interests. We got lucky and the best middle school libero in the prefecture picked us.”

“Must be nice to be such a simpleton,” Suna says.

“Can we get going?” Shouyou says, tossing the ball in his hands. “I’ll come in straight first for you, Miya-san.”

Atsumu nods. Shouyou throws the ball and starts his approach. Atsumu takes a slow breath and lifts his hands. He’d seen Shouyou hit some pretty insane shots during their match, it seems like blasphemy to be giving him such a simple set. The ball touches and Atsumua fires it off at speed. 

Only for the ball to soar over Shouyou’s head.

Shouyou lands and blinks up at him as one of the managers runs for the ball. _Huh_. Lower then. He frowns and tilts his head. He’s sure Shouyou was hitting higher for Tobio. He was soaring into the air. He was definitely jumping higher and hitting faster. Maybe the fever and the fall caused more damage than Shouyou’s letting on. Maybe he’s not ready to jump high and fast yet.

Or maybe it’s just because it’s the first try.

“Again,” Shouyou says, heading back to the ball bin.

Atsumu smiles and nods. Shouyou didn’t say a word about the toss clearly being high above his head. His hunch had been right during the match. He doesn’t complain about tosses. Even when it was clearly Tobios set that was the problem, Shouyou had just grinned and demanded the next one too. 

Five misfires later and Suna and Osamu’s smugness is turning to concern. They haven’t even connected once, let alone need a block. The pair of managers are whispering about them, what’s wrong and why can’t Shouyou hit the ball and is Atsumu tossing too fast? It’s getting frustrating and he can see the same frustration in Shouyou’s eyes and in his voice as he calls for another, but he still won’t complain. 

Two more misses and Atsumu snaps. 

“Dontcha ever complain?”

“Not really,” Shouyou replies, tilting his head like he doesn’t understand the question. “I mean, you’re trying, I’m trying, we’re just not syncing, right? So what’s complaining going to do? And it's not like you need me to point out what's wrong, I'm pretty sure you know.”

“So, ya just never complain about bad sets?” Osamu says.

“Even when they’re definitely bad?” Suna says

“Even when it’s not yer fault?” Riseki says.

Shouyou frowns. “I think the only time I told Kageyama off was when he backed off on trying our falling toss rather than keep going for it.”

“Falling toss?” Atsumu repeats.

“It was how we got our quick working better,” he says, spinning the ball in his hand. “Because it was so fast and I wasn't very experienced, I didn’t have much time to change directions very well. So Kageyama did this thing with his toss, where the spin of the ball stops the forward movement and it stops in mid-air for a moment so I had more options. It took ages to get it right though, so we lost lots of practice matches and Kageyama got a bit shaken and pulled back to a normal quick so I’d definitely hit and not get frustrated. But I was fine pushing on. I didn’t need him to play down for me. I didn’t need him to back off.”

Atsumu tilts his head. The only time Shouyou has snapped at Tobio about his tosses was when he backed off from something difficult? 

“Again,” Atsumu says. 

“Yeah!”

Another few failed spikes and even Suna and Osamu have gotten bored of watching them mess up and are passing a ball between them. Somehow the fact that Shouyou won’t complain is even more frustrating. He just grits his teeth and demands another. 

“‘Tsumu.” Atsumu turns to glare at Osamu, who’s frowning at him. “This is exhausting to watch. Go help some first years with serve receives for a bit.”

“Ya mean blast some serves at them,” Riseki laughs.

“The two of ya are over adjusting to each other,” Osamu says. “You can’t see it, but it’s obvious from the outside. Take a break.”

Atsumu scowls at him. “I’m the best setter in high school volleyball. I’ll manage.”

Osamu and Suna both give him a look that clearly says ‘ _why do we have to manage your moods_ ’ but Atsumu ignores that. Because they’re teammates, that’s why.

“Alright, think about it this way,” Osamu says quietly. “Yer the best high school setter. He probably wants to prove himself as someone who can work with ya, rather than having to rely on Kageyama. He’s probably nervous and overcompensating. Failing again and again is probably working him up more and now he’s over swinging and overcompensating more.”

“I suppose that does make sense,” Atsumu says, nodding slightly.

“Not to mention, it’s his first day in a new place, new school, new team,” Riseki says, nodding along. Atsumu glances over at Shouyou talking quietly to Suna. Looks like he’s doing an impression - or an attempted impression - of Suna’s hitting motion. “And he saw ya play so well at Nationals. It’s probably really overwhelming for him to handle straight away, even if he’s trying not to show it.”

“Go serve, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu says. “Calm down and come back and we’ll settle Shouyou-kun for ya.”

Atsumu grits his teeth but nods and picks a weaker looking group to practice serves with.

“You’re quitting, Miya-san?” Shouyou says.

“I’ve been told to take a break and reset,” Atsumu replies. “I’ll be back.”

“You’d better be,” he says.

He waves a hand and ducks through the netting around the courts as he heads towards his poor unsuspecting victims. He glances back to see the four of them passing the ball casually between them as they talk. He knows he’s been manipulated into this. Osamu’s played up to his pride and he fell for it, sure, but Shouyou does look calmer just passing the ball. And something wasn’t working. They’re both getting frustrated and that’s not going to help. 

Atsumu will admit throwing his jump serves at a bunch of first years who probably never played against a jump serve before in their life, let alone one as strong as his, is a tiny bit cruel but they have to get used to it. If they want to be on the regular team and come to Nationals with them, things like Atsumu’s serve will be commonplace. So he slams balls down at them one by one until they at least get a hand on it. At this stage, they don’t have to get it up in the air or receive it perfectly, they just have to hold their nerve and get in the path of the ball enough to hit. Not being afraid of the ball flying at them is the first step to receiving insane serves and spikes, after all. 

“Are ya done torturing them, Atsumu?” Coach Oomi says, stepping up beside him.

“I’m helping them learn,” Atsumu replies. “I’ve not got the nastiest serve out there.”

“Hinata-kun says you’re only third on Karasuno’s libero’s list of ‘ _awesomely hard_ ’ serves to receive,” he chuckles.

“Third?!”

“Someone called the Grand King is first and Ushijima’s second.”

Atsumu narrows his eyes. He’s not sure what to make of that. He doesn’t know who this Grand King is but he’s had to receive Ushijima’s serves and spikes before. He can handle being beneath him. Well, at least it’s not Tobio.

“Osamu seems to be getting along with Hinata-kun,” Oomi says with a smile. Atsumu turns. Osamu is batting the ball back at Shouyou for him to receive. “I suppose if stories about Kageyama-kun are to be believed, he’s used to something a bit more overtly grumpy and stoic than you.”

“Ya think so?”

“I think, from what we saw at Nationals, in Karasuno’s first year duo, Osamu is Kageyama-kun and yer Hinata-kun.” 

Atsumu turns to glare over at Osamu and Shouyou. It was bad enough Tobio having his dream spiker, now his _brother’s_ moving in on him?! That's just like Osamu. Always wants what Atsumu's interested in. And he’s definitely not sure about that comparison. Although, he supposes he’d be offended to be told he has a personality like Tobio’s. Neither one is a winning comparison for him.

Osamu smacks the ball hard enough to send it flying off the back of the court and Shouyou bolts after it. That’s not fair at all. And why’s Oomi watching with a smile as Osamu forces Shouyou to run after it. How’s that going to help?

Shouyou hits the ground and slides along the floor, getting a hand under the ball and sending it back. It’s beautiful. The perfect position above Osamu. It’s the sort of pass setters dream of off a ball like that. Osamu smiles a little, something softer and warmer than usual. The kind of smile usually reserved for those special rare moments, the kind only ever meant for Atsumu, Aran or Kita to see. 

Osamu’s set is high and clean without any real direction. Actually, it’s pretty much straight up.

And Shouyou’s face lights up enough to be seen from across the gym.

Shouyou springs forward, watching the ball and jumping for it with an eagerness he hadn’t had when he went for Atsumu’s tosses. He jumps higher than he had for Atsumu too. That’s a lot closer to his jumping at the start of Nationals.

What the actual fuck?! Why is Osamu getting more out of Shouyou than him?!

The ball slams down onto the court and Shouyou lands with the biggest, brightest grin. He gazes down at his palm for a moment before breaking out in the most adorable, shuffling little dance. 

How come Osamu gets to set the ball to Shouyou and get him to do cute celebrations and pat that temptingly soft looking hair and Atsumu can’t even get Shouyou’s hand to meet the ball?!

There is no way Tobio’s a better setter than him, let alone Osamu!

“Weren’t you listening to his story earlier, Atsumu?” Kurosu says, patting his shoulder in passing. “Osamu just copied Kageyama-kun to put him at ease. Let him get lost in the passing and then offer him an ease set he can control himself to build the connection between them.” 

Atsumu purses his lips. Copy Tobio or Osamu? He’d rather die.

And he’s definitely ignoring that, yes, he did copy Tobio by doing that light speed quick at Nationals but Kita’s not here to read his mind and point that out anymore.

“Nice work, Hinata-kun,” Kurosu calls, heading through the netting around the courts with Atsumu behind. Shouyou spins to face him, still absolutely beaming. “Nicely done, Osamu.”

“It’s really not that hard,” Osamu says, tilting his head to gaze over at them. 

Suddenly, Atsumu is thrown back to those days when Osamu was always picked as setter. Suddenly, Atsumu remembers Osamu is the better player. It’s only Atsumu’s drive that keeps him standing beside him, keeps him pushing ahead and sees him picked for Youth Camp rather than Osamu. He bites the inside of his cheek, determined not to rise to it. Not this time. They’ve already filled their quota of laughing at him for one day.

“Shouyou-kun has a pretty good eye,” Osamu continues, “and he was hitting those open sets during the third round easily enough. Tosses like that are what he’s most practiced in, it seemed sensible to let him ease in with 'em.”

Huh? 

Shouyou was most practiced with sets like that? Is that why Tobio was doing them so confidently during that match? Lots of hitters don’t like high, slow sets like that. Too much work to do on their own without Atsumu spoon feeding them. If he’s honest, Atsumu would rather do it that way too. And Tobio definitely doesn’t seem like the kind who’d give up control like that willingly. 

“Give it a shot with me, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu calls. 

Shouyou nods and Atsumu takes Osamu’s place. Yeah, he’d rather die than copy Tobio and Osamu, but he’d rather copy them then keep misfiring with Shouyou. 

Shouyou throws the ball above his head and Atsumu clamps down on the urge to set the ball how and where he wants and have Shouyou dance to his tune. He has to let Shouyou take the reins for now. He lets the ball fly high and steady, lets Shouyou eye it up with his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. Shouyou jumps cleanly, still not as high as Atsumu is sure he was going at Nationals, and the ball slams down to the other side of the court with a satisfying bang.

Atsumu barely has time to realize Shouyou’s approaching and get his hands up before the flying high fives are upon him. Shouyou has the most radiant grin on his face, eyes sparkling and melodious laughter bubbling in his throat. 

_That’s it_ , Atsumu thinks, grinning back at him, _that’s the Shouyou he was bewitched by at Nationals_.

“There’s the first step,” Coach Kurosu says, folding his arms. “It’s always important to establish a bond early on with small steps before you try larger ones, don’t you think? Best to ask a dog to sit and stay before you try fancy tricks.”

“Dogs?” Shouyou says, tilting his head.

“We’re _foxes_ , not dogs,” Atsumu says.

“We’re _people_ , not animals,” Suna says.

“You’re teenage boys,” Kurosu says, “it’s not that different. I’ve seen your locker room. Hinata-kun.” Shouyou straightens up and Kurosu beckons him to follow. “Come and look at the others with me while we talk. I need to know more about you, and Miyagi while we’re at it.”

“I’ll give ya a hint, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu whispers as Shouyou hurries over the coach, “because I’m the nice twin; get yer head outta yer ass, stop fantasizin’ about the spiker of yer dreams and try lookin’ at the very real middle blocker right in front of ya.”

Atsumu elbows him in the ribs and Osamu smacks his arm in return.

“Oi, knock if off, you two,” Kurosu snaps. 

They glare at each other, but do as they’re told. And then Osamu opens his big fat mouth again.

“Y'know, the way you and Kageyama played and acted, Shouyou-kun, I figured you’d been forced to put up with him since childhood like me and ‘Tsumu.”

Atsumu stares at him. “They weren’t?!” 

“As if,” Shouyou laughs. “First time I met him was in my last year of middle school. He yelled at me, kicked my team's ass and then yelled at me more.”

“So you two have only been playing together since high school?” Suna says. “And you two can hit quicks that fast and consistently? There’s a reason only the idiot twins have tried to copy it. That level of trust-”

“It’s not trust,” Osamu says.

Shouyou nods quickly. “I just know the ball is coming.”

The two turn to stare at each other, and everyone is staring at them too. Apparently his best hitters are on the same wavelength. Nice to know. But isn’t that the definition of trust? They trust so much they know? He sighs silently. Tobio really did get a ridiculous partner. Atsumu isn’t sure how he’s going to manage, if he’s honest. Especially if him and Osamu can understand each other. 

“But, Shouyou-kun’s only just been playing a year,” Riseki says.

“I thought he said middle school?” Suna says.

“I did play in middle school!” Shouyou declares, shooting Riseki an accusatory glare. “I played against Kageyama’s team in a tournament and everything!”

“But, ya said ya didn’t have a coach or a team until high school,” Riseki says. Shouyou puffs up defensively. “Playing volleyball alone and teaching yourself… that’s not really playing volleyball, y'know? It’s like saying yer a chef ‘cause ya watch cooking shows all the time.”

“You’ve only been playing properly for a year?!” Atsumu snaps. Shouyou turns his glare on him, only this one is adorable and the furthest thing from intimidating. Nothing like the terrifying kid he becomes on court. More like a puppy. “And ya already play like that?!”

“Alright, enough chatter, this is volleyball practice,” Coach Kurosu says. “Osamu, since you’re in the mood to set, you can do so for Suna and Riseki-kun.” The three of them nod. “Atsumu, Hinata-kun, come with me.”

Atsumu joins Shouyou and the coach and they leave the trio to their practice. They pass from practice group to group, Kurosu barking instructions at the odd one. At this stage, they’re mostly being left to themselves. The coaches trust the older members of the team to drill the basics into the newcomers and test them out. And Coach Oomi is with last year’s regulars and interesting new comers. The real hard work will start at the end of next week, when the on the spot applicants have been settled and looked at. 

“So, you’ve only had a coach for a year, Hinata-kun?” Kurosu says. 

Shouyou nods. “I was the only member of the volleyball club until the last year of middle school. Then I only had three first years. I had to get my best friends from the basketball team and soccer team to help me out just to get into a tournament. It’s not really an wonder we got our asses kicked by Kageyama.”

“And that didn’t put you off?” he says.

“Nope,” he laughs. “It just made me more determined. And excited. I was going to beat Kageyama and I was super pumped to see what kind of setter I’d have at high school. I’d never had a setter before.” He pulls a face and his shoulders slump. “He called me a klutzy piece of shit the first time I walked into Karasuno’s gym and saw him there.”

“Language, Hinata-kun,” he says, but his voice is warm and amused. “But, it sounds like you'll fit right in without any trouble if you can handle that.”

“Thanks…?” 

Shouyou decided after a moment it's positive and smiles. Honestly, Atsumu has never been more smitten. In a volleyball sense. Shouyou has faced so many setbacks and a total lack of support, and he kept going. Somehow, even though he had nothing to do with any of it, Atsumu is proud of Shouyuo. And if he’s this good after only a year of proper training, how amazing could he have been if he’d found support sooner.

“But, even after that Karasuno took ‘til nearly Golden Week to get a coach. We had Takeda-sensei and he tried his best, but he didn’t know much about volleyball. Even less than me. And Daichi-san, our captain, he tried his best. He's the one who made me a middle blocker. But... it wasn't the same as having a coach and we all sorta knew it.”

“Mmm, I heard Coach Ukai collapsed the year before last just after coming out of retirement,” Kurosu muses, nodding slightly.

“Yeah, Coach Grandpa Ukai is pretty awesome, he helped me a lot,” Shouyou says. “But we were really grateful for our Coach Ukai too. And all the other coaches too. Especially Coach Nekomata. He’s the one who got us invited to the Fukurodani Group practices. And all the coaches there were really helpful too.”

“How did Coach Ukai coach?” Kurosu says. “How in control of you was he?”

Shouyou frowns at him for a moment before he seems to understand the question. “He kept us moving, I guess. Most of the stuff we learn, it was our own ideas. Lots of times, we’d see something cool and want to try it, so we’d ask Coach Ukai and he’d tell us how to do it and instruct us on how to practice and improve. He would teach us technically and knew where we could find help if he couldn't, and he gave us advice in matches, but he left a lot of the drive to us. We had to want to improve. Does that make sense?”

Kurosu nods. “It does.”

“Oh good.”

“Tell me about the school in Miyagi, Hinata-kun,” he says. “Now you’ve proven Shiratorizawa is beatable and Ushijima-kun has moved on, I imagine Karasuno won’t be the only school who manages to come up to Nationals.” 

“Oh yeah, and who’s this Grand King who’s above Ushiwaka on yer libero’s list of hard serves?” Atsumu says.

Shouyou’s face lights up in a way Atsumu recognizes instantly. The look of someone given free license to ramble on their favorite subject.

“Seijoh’s captain last year,” Shouyou says. “The Grand King’s serves were _sooooo_ intense.” 

He grabs his phone from his pocket and after a moment brings up a video, holding it out for them to see. _**Karasuno vs Seijoh Spring Tournament 2012 - Oikawa’s Best Serves**_. Atsumu frowns at the title. _Oikawa_? There’s some pretty boy in the white and blue #1 captain’s jersey. Atsumu thinks he recognises him from their research on Shiratorizawa during previous tournaments. But, very few people put up much of a fight against them, it’s never a great representation. Except for Karasuno. 

Whoever this Oikawa guy is, his form is on point. And even from the not so great angles of the camera, that serve is insane. Atsumu flinches back from it as the ball slams down out of bounds between Karasuno’s captain and libero. They don’t even have time to react. _Holy shit_. Atsumu’s arms ache in sympathy just from watching that impact. And Karasuno _really_ struggles with it. Even their super libero. It’s just clip after clip of Karasuno struggling to even meet the ball, let alone get it up.

“Who is this guy?” Atsumu breathes, staring down at the screen.

Shouyou grins. “He’s the best setter in Miyagi. Or was.”

“Better than your Kageyama-kun?” Kurosu says.

Shouyou nods. “The Grand King-”

“Why d'ya call him that?” Atsumu says.

“Oh, because everyone called Kageyama the King of the Court-”

“They did?”

“Yeah,” Shouyou says, nodding quickly, “because he was a total tyrant. So bad his team ended up refusing to jump for his sets.”

Atsumu shudders. That’s gotta be a setter’s worst nightmare, just having all your hitters refuse to even try for his sets. _Shit_. Yeah, he can see why Kageyama had some issues deferring to the hitters at training camp. That’s gotta be traumatising for a middle school setter. No wonder he got himself so reliant on Shouyou who would go for literally any toss thrown his way. 

“So anyway,” Shouyou continues, “if Kageyama is the King, when we found out that Oikawa-san is his setter senpai-”

“His what?!”

“Mmm, Kageyama based his serve off him and everything. No one freaks him out like the Grand King, you should have seen him during our first official match. So freaked out by him Coach had to bench him for a while. So, I was like, well if Kageyama’s the King, what comes above that, and had to settle on Grand King.” He puts his phone away and tilts his head up to them. “Ushijima-san said the Grand King should have gone to Shiratorizawa and been his setter. He said he brings out the true strength of a team.”

“If this guy’s a setter on Tobio-kun’s level, why’ve I never heard of him?” Atsumu says.

“Aoba Johsai is one of the best schools in the prefecture,” Shouyou says. “They’re consistently in the top four and really the only guys who ever beat them was Shiratorizawa. But… they always hit against Shiratorizawa. They never got to Nationals.”

“That’s why we need to know what you know,” Kurosu says. Shouyou grins up at him. “What other schools are looking threatening right now, Hinata-kun?”

“Umm, Date Tech is awesome,” he says with an adorably thoughtful pout. “Coach Ukai said they're probably going to be a massive threat this year. We had a pretty good relationship with them after our Inter-High match. Aone-san is really scary looking middle blocker, but really nice. Ah, they’re the best blockers in the prefecture. They have strong serves that were even stronger last time we faced them in a practice match so probably suuuuuper strong by now, but their blocking is amazing. Super scary. And when our ace was a second year, they had a match and they blocked literally every one of his hits. They’re known as the Iron Wall.”

Atsumu purses his lips. That’d piss him off. Just imagining every one of Aran’s spikes getting blocked and slammed down has him grinding his teeth. And he can’t imagine what that would do to Aran’s confidence too. Shit, that would suck. 

“How did you beat them?” Kurosu says.

“I was a decoy, and we used a pipe and synchronized attacks, lots of tricks to lure the blocks,” Shouyou says. “And, last time we faced each other, their new setter was still a baby setter. A giant baby setter. Their receiving wasn’t so great that time either.”

“Who else?” Kurosu says.

“There’s Johzenji. They were lots of fun to play. They did lots of stuff I’d really like to try sometime too. Ah, and they stopped our quick by just not blocking. They decided to receive rather than block. That was weird, to be honest. It really threw me off the first time. No one's ever done that before.”

Kurosu hum, looking over to the group practicing receives. “That’s an interesting tactic for dealing with it.”

“They were majorly unpredictable,” he laughs.

“That’s a lot coming from a Karasuno player,” Atsumu says.

“They were all second years too, so they’ll all be back next year,” he says. “But Wakutani, they had a lot of third years who stayed on, so I’m not sure how they’d play this year. Ah, but their #1 played like the Tiny Giant, I guess sorta like Hoshiumi-san. He was tooling off our blocks all over the place. It was suuuuper frustrating. Those were the top four.”

Kurosu smiles and nods. “I think this is going to be an interesting year.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, by some miracle, Atsumu almost sounds like a captain. Osamu won't lose to him, even if he's secretly a bit proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so now we've got a good amount of fic up, I'm going to attempt an every Wednesday update schedule. Attempt is the important word there because instant gratification. Also, thank you everyone for the support so far, it's been really wonderful, I was so nervous about publishing and everyone has been really supportive, it's really great. Also, gonna start introducing some background OCs to round out the teams in this chapter too.

Watching Atsumu fawning over Shouyou is kinda sickening. Morning practice had gone as well as Osamu expected. Even without the new first years, who won’t be joining them in the morning for a few weeks, and with Coach Oomi focused on them exclusively, Atsumu and Shouyou are still struggling to sync up enough to pull off even a normal quick. Of course, telling the pair of idiots it’s only been a few hours of practicing together and they shouldn’t get so worked up over it won’t work. And Osamu’s absolutely sure Shouyou isn’t jumping near the height he was even in the Shiratorizawa recording, let alone Nationals. Osamu puts it down to the fever, being out of condition and shaken confidence and hopes it’s not something more serious.

And Osamu is doing a far better job setting for Shouyou than Atsumu. He can see it plain as day all over his brother’s face how frustrated he’s getting with it. The idiot always wears his heart on his sleeve. And, unfortunately, the more frustrated Atsumu gets, the more that frustration starts leaking into other things. It’s like when he was trying to figure out his jump float serve. The more he failed, the more he decided he sucked and then even his normal jump serve was becoming shaky which knocked his confidence even more and started to turn his setting bad.

And then there’s that old, festering insecurity that Osamu is the better player. 

Honestly, they’re barely two days into their third year and watching Atsumu is _painful_. 

But, outside of Atsumu’s volleyball soulmate crisis, Shouyou is a pretty great company. Even after so little time. Riseki was right about him fitting right in. Atsumu had grabbed Shouyou from class for lunch in the club room with them and Riseki had hurried after him. Apparently no amount of wariness of his seniors was going to override Riseki’s sense of responsibility. He’d been tasked with looking after Shouyou, he was going to do it.

Not that Shouyou needs much looking after. He might be a little bit nervous and jumpy, but his sunny personality seems to draw in everyone around him. And, unlike a lot of newbies, he’s not at all put off by the loud or prickly personalities of their team. Having seen Karasuno - with their awkward setter, nasty middle blocker, enthusiastic libero and overzealous wing spiker all held together by an unwaveringly steady and stern captain - perhaps Osamu understands why.

“- and Kageyama just goes ‘ _I’m from Karasuno, can we do some recon?_ ’ like right there in the middle of the street,” Shouyou laughs between mouthfuls of lunch. “He’s so dense sometimes. And Ushijima-san just went ‘ _we’re not going to get any weaker if you watch_ ’ which was pretty badass.”

“We’re going to have to put a guard on ya, Shouyou,” Riseki sighs. “Ya get into so much trouble with other teams.”

“That’s not my fault!” he cries.

“I volunteer,” Suna says.

“You’ll just record it and not do anything,” Atsumu snaps.

“True,” he says with a shrug, “but at least there would be evidence.”

“It’s not like I meant to get into trouble with other teams!” Shouyou argues. “It’s not my fault all the nasty guys decide to go to the bathroom at the same time as me. It’s not like I _try_ to get into fights with them, they start it. And the only time a guy ever actually apologized was when he thought I was a middle school kid there to cheer on a sibling.”

Shouyou at least isn’t offended by their laughter like some might be. He just puffs up and stuffs his mouth with lunch in mock disgust - hopefully knowing they're not laughing _at_ him. And for all Shouyou acts like or says he’s afraid of big, intimidating players, he’s not afraid of them. Perhaps because he sees them as his team now. Maybe that’s enough to reassure him he’s safe.

“Ah, speaking of Tobio-kun,” Atsumu says with a grin that spells nothing but disaster. 

And Osamu knows exactly where this is going already. Atsumu had got a message from Kageyama late after practice last night with sparse details about Shouyou leaving Karasuno. That he’d moved to the other side of Tokyo, the school he was going to had a team that had been to Nationals a few times and that they’d agreed they would meet at Nationals. Which had, of course, left Atsumu at a loss for how to respond; he didn’t want to betray Shouyou’s privacy if he didn’t tell Kageyama for a reason but didn’t know what lie to spin. Osamu, being the respectable and responsible brother of the pair, stepped in and directed him to simply ask to be kept in the loop because they’d like to play him again too.

But of course, Atsumu wouldn’t leave it at that.

“Shouyou-kun didn’t tell his flock of crows where he was going.”

“Don’t call them that,” Suna mutters. “It’s weird. We’re _people_ , not animals.”

“I did,” Shouyou argues. 

“Tobio-kun doesn’t know,” Atsumu says.

“I told Yachi-san!”

“Who?” Suna says.

“Their cute blond manager,” Riseki says, because _of course_ Riseki noticed _that_.

“Who’s convinced one of you Miya-sans was trying to kill her,” Shouyou says, glaring over. Osamu frowns at him and Atsumu tilts his head like a moron. “One of you totally messed up your jump serve and sent it into the scoreboard right next to her. She’s really nervous, you know. She’s convinced her arms will break if she touches those fast balls and that she’d die if that serve hit her.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Suna says. 

“I know that,” he says. “I receive with my face all the time and I’m fine.”

“That explains _so_ much,” he says.

“I don’t think you should be proud of that,” Riseki sighs. 

“Kita-san would be appalled,” Osamu says with a nod. “And it was ‘Tsumu.”

“Hah?!” Atsumu turns to glare at him. “What was me?!”

“Who nearly killed their poor manager,” he replies.

“ _Liar_. I was doing floats at their libero all match. It was you!” He turns to Shouyou. “Ya can’t tell us apart, Shouyou-kun? We have different colour hair. We wear different numbers. We play different positions and have different serves.”

“Which are all really cool, by the way,” Shouyou says.

“Flattery won’t work this time,” Atsumu says.

“So who does know about you coming here other than your manager?” Suna says, returning to the actual problem. “Since your setter doesn’t.”

“ _I’m_ his setter, not Tobio-kun.”

“Say that when he actually hits yer sets,” Osamy says.

“We’re working on it,” Atsumu huffs.

“Just Yachi-san and Tsukki,” Shouyou says. He glances at Suna. “He says he’s definitely going to block you properly next time too.”

“Which one’s Tsukki?” Osamu says.

“The grumpy blonde middle with glasses, is my guess,” Suna says.

“Yeah, he worked it out, somehow,” Shouyou says. “He’s probably told Yamaguchi too. They’d probably assume the same as you guys, right? That after we played and Miya-san-”

“ _Atsumu_. My name is _Atsumu_.”

“- offered to toss for me, that I just abandoned them for you guys, when actually it was all arranged before Nationals and it was totally a freaky coincidence. I didn’t want to make things awkward. It took me until the last day of school to tell them I was leaving. There was never a right time.”

“So, what yer saying, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu says with a shit eating grin, “is that we have a secret weapon.”

“Oh you’re kidding,” Suna sighs. 

“Kita-san, help us,” Riseki says under his breath.

“He’s not wrong,” Osamu says.

“See, ya can tell I’m absolutely right,” Atsumu says. “‘Samu would never back me up unless I was totally spot on.”

“If we use Shouyou-kun in practice games, he can get experience with us, but we can hide him during official matches,” he says, nodding slightly. “Say he’s injured and resting up to make sure he makes Nationals. That way teams from outside the prefecture won’t know about him 'til the last minute.”

“And then when we face Karasuno at Nationals, we finally reveal him. Imagine their faces when we walk out there to warm up and _BAM!_ Shouyou-kun is right there next to us now. It’d totally throw 'em off their game.”

“Like psychological warfare. Just like our cheer squad. It’s not against the rules, just a bit sneaky.”

“You two are starting to sound a bit like villains, Miya-sans,” Shouyou says.

Watching Atsumu puff up like an offended cat every time Shoyou doesn’t use his name is going to be the highlight for Osamu’s day for the next week or so. Osamu doesn’t really mind either way. Especially when it rattles Atsumu so much.

“You’re also not considering that his name would be on the team list,” Suna says. 

Atsumu frowns and Osamu shrugs. That might be a little snag, but really, is that actually a _problem_? It’d do the job of keeping him secret for a while. And that might just be enough.

“The event program would have him listed,” Riseki says. “And given he’s a person of interest, he might even get an article or something. And that assuming we don’t end up in a volleyball magazine. There’s always at least one article on us a year and I’m sure they’re gonna love Karasuno’s shrimpy #10 with a big jump suddenly joining one of the top schools in the country. Especially picking one All Japan setter over another. They’ll spin it as some kind of rivalry. As Shouyou choosing Atsumu-san over Kageyama.”

“I would never do that,” Shouyou says, at the same time as Atsumu huffs, “he did though.”

“Shouyou-kun needs to be on the regular team before we start planning secret weapons anyway,” Suna says.

“That won’t be any problem,” Atsumu says. “We’ve got a wing spiker spot wide open.”

“And that’s assuming everything stays the same,” Suna says.

“And Shouyou-kun is a middle blocker,” Osamu says. 

“He’s _my_ _wing spiker_!” Atsumu snaps.

“Speaking of the new team,” Suna says before Atsumu starts getting too worked up over details. “New libero? One of the baby libero wannabes or Kenjou-kun?”

“Akagi-senpai was always declaring Kenjou-kun would be his successor,” Osamu muses. “He’s a good kid, but some of the baby liberos are looking good too.”

Suna glances at Shouyou. “Hey, Shouyou-kun-”

“Fuck no,” Atsumu snaps, wrapping one arm around Shouyou’s shoulders and pullng him back. “Yer not turning my wing spiker into a libero. No fucking way!”

“Actually,” Shouyou says.

“Traitor,” Atsumu hisses, shoving him away before he can get any further. 

“Am not!” he says. He huffs and turns back to his bento, stuffing his mouth like it’s the answer to his life problems. As if a tiny kid admitting he’d like to be a libero is anything other than normal. Atsumu's the only one throwing a fit. If Shouyou's about to say he wants to be a libero, good for him. “But, before I left Karasuno, Noya-san said he’d teach me to be a libero if I taught him to fly. And... I didn't hate the idea.”

“Learning to play all positions is helpful,” Osamu says. “It wouldn’t hurt ya to play libero for a few practice games. Yer receiving wasn’t bad at Nationals, and was improving the entire time.”

“Yer positioning was really good, Shouyou,” Riseki says. Shouyou beams. “Ya just took your time getting the passing right. And having only been playing with a coach for a year and the nerves of your first Nationals, that’s totally understandable. Positioning is half the battle. Ya saw Atsumu-san with the first years yesterday, right?”

Shouyou nods. “None of them looked like they could get a handle on your serves well though.”

“Not the point,” Atsumu says.

“He was teaching them not to be afraid of the ball,” Osamu says. “Like at Nationals with yer not so great passes. Even if ya couldn’t properly pass or even receive those balls, ya got behind them and got them up. Even if it hits yer face. It might be embarrassing and painful, but it’s up and yer team can push on. Ya can’t run away from the ball.”

“You were definitely doing the right thing, just a little messily,” Riseki says.

That's putting is nicely. Especially that first game.

“Yeah, I learnt a lot as a ball boy,” Shoyou says. “Even if it was kind of embarrassing and depressing at first.”

“Ball boy?” Atsumu says. 

Shouyou nods like that doesn’t need further explanation. There’s a moment of silence before Suna nudges him with his foot. “Details, chibi-chan.”

“Only captains and Yaku-san get to call me that,” Shouyou huffs. 

“Who-” Atsumu sighs and shakes his head. “Ya keep throwing names out there like we should know 'em.”

“Haven’t you guys met lots of teams too?” he says. “Isn’t it normal to just talk about people you know?”

“Yeah, but we don’t care about 'em,” he replies. “Only if they catch our attention. Like you did.”

“Yaku-san was a third year libero from one of our training partners. Noya-san says he’s one of the best liberos he’s ever seen. Yachi-san said Bokuto-san told her Yaku-san could break an ace without ever touching the ball.”

“That’s so badass,” Atsumu says, sounding weirdly breathless. 

It _does_ sound pretty badass, if Osamu’s honest. Yes, Atsumu regresses a few years when it comes to volleyball, and, yes, Atsumu is volleyball obsessed, but yeah, it’s pretty cool. Osamu could definitely go for playing against a libero like that. Especially with boasts like that, and from _Bokuto_ no less. Bokuto might be notoriously flakey, but he's never afraid of a tough opponent.

Although, Osamu thinks they’ve got a bit off of the original topic of gossip.

“Ya were saying something about being a ball boy,” Osamu says. 

“Oh, there was a training camp for first years at Shiratorizawa while the Japan Youth thing was going on,” Shouyou says. “And Tsukki got invited and not me. So I sorta snuck in because there’s no way Tsukki should be invited and not me.”

Atsumu nods but Osamu and Riseki scowl. Whether Shouyou deserved to be there or not, you can’t just sneak into a training camp you’re not invited to. If one of them tried that, Coach Kurosu would ban them from matches for months. Probably with some speech about making them look like entitled brats and making Inarizaki look bad. And worse than that, Kita do his version of killing them - that is to say he would be exceedingly disappointed and remind them the best way to deal with that sort of situation is to prove them wrong on the court.

“Coach Washijou was pretty mad,” Shouyou says. They nod sympathetically. Washijou really lives up to the title Demon Coach. “He said I was pretty much useless without Kageyama and well, Kageyama could make even a child look like a pro, right?”

Atsumu is bristling and turns quickly to his lunch, wearing his ‘ _I want to beat the shit out of someone but I know well enough not to_ ’ face.

“And so he said I could be a ball boy or go home,” he continues, “but, joke’s on him. I said I’d be a ball boy because I actually learn pretty well just by watching. I taught myself to play volleyball, after all. And I learnt to copy lots of Bokuto-san’s moves just by watching him, he wasn’t all that great at explaining stuff anyway. That’s how I learnt to receive properly. Actually, Ushijima-san was pretty helpful. He didn’t mind me asking questions or watching him. I think his whole he won’t get weaker by helping me get stronger thing is actually pretty cool.”

Suna nods. “It’s what makes him annoying. You just can’t rattle the guy. He’s unshakably honest and genuine. I hate people like that, almost as much as I hate people like the twins.”

“Still, if he helped, he can’t be all bad,” Riseki says. “And I’ve always thought Ushijima-san seemed like a hard working, diligent person. And he never seemed arrogant, even though he’s lucky enough to be huge and strong and left handed.”

“Yeaaaah,” Shouyou sighs. “Ushijima-san gets all the breaks, but he works really hard too.”

“Anyway, if ya want to try being a libero for a bit, I doubt there’s much harm,” Osamu says between mouthfuls. Atsumu glares. “Being better at receiving and passing never hurt anyone and playing libero for a bit would help with that. We’ll introduce ya to Kenjou-kun properly at practice this afternoon and see what Coach Kurosu says.”

“If nothing else, ya can practice with the baby liberos,” Atsumu says.

“Stop calling them that,” Riseki sighs. “Kita-san really was a saint.”

“He’s not dead,” Suna says.

“We miss ya, Kita-san,” Osamu says with a solemn nod. 

“ _He’s not dead._ ”

“I hope, wherever he is, he’s happy,” Atsumu says.

“Shouyou-kun, talk some sense into them.”

“I wish I’d got to meet him properly before he moved on,” Shouyou says.

“I give up,” Suna sighs. “I’m not becoming the new Aran. I’m not.” He turns to Shouyou. “What position do _you_ want to play anyway? Don’t let him bully you into being a wing spiker if you’re happy as a middle blocker.”

Shouyou’s smile is… _odd_ now. He turns his attention to his food, but there’s no joy in it. And well, Osamu loves food like Atsumu and Shouyou love volleyball. Seeing someone not enjoy it pisses him off. It makes him want to fix it.

“It depends where Coach wants me, right?” Shouyou says. “I’ve got to do what’s best for the team and what I’m good at.”

“Yeah, but ya wanted to play a position, right?” Atsumu says as Osamu opens up his locker. “I mean, does anyone get into high school and not know what position they want to play? Yer not great at blocking, so I guess ya dreamed of being a spiker, right? My spiker.”

“Maybe,” he replies. “But…”

“Here, it’ll help ya feel better,” Osamu says, opening up a box of his homemade onigiri, holding it out to Shouyou and batting away Astumu’s hand when he reaches for one. “It’s only day two. It’s not like there’s much trust built up between us yet, but we’re yer team, Shouyou-kun.”

Shouyou blinks at him slowly before taking one. “Thanks…”

“Every position but setter is up for grabs,” he says. “If ya want it, go for it, no matter what our resident jerk says. We’re yer team and we’ll back ya up.”

“When did ya become such a goody-goody, ‘Samu?” Atsumu snaps.

“This is really good, Osamu-san,” Shouyou whispers.

“He gets his name?!” 

“He gave me food.”

“I give ya tosses!”

“So does Osamu-san.” He smiles properly now, cheeks going a little pink. “I wanted to be Karasuno’s ace. Like the Tiny Giant. I started playing because of him. Seeing him jump. Seeing him take down the blocks. A little guy like me really could be the ace. Could really go to Nationals. I wanted that so bad.”

“Wanted?” Riseki says.

Shouyou’s laugh is so obviously fake it hurts Osamu to think about trying to put that on. “Sometimes what you want and what’s best for the team aren’t the same, right? I could never be an ace.”

Atsumu’s shoulders stiffen and his glare turns absolutely murderous. Suna’s looking at his phone in a way that’s an obvious distraction, hiding how much it bothers him. Even Riseki’s fists are clenched and shaking. It’s easy enough to say this is just the side effects of his incident at Nationals. It’s not surprising it’s knocked his confidence. They’ve been telling themselves that for the past two practices and will probably have to continue telling themselves that for a while longer. But yeah, it pisses him off too, hearing Shouyou full of potential and determination saying there’s something he could never be. 

Fuck that. 

Osamu is about to say so - although in less colorful terms because he has an image to maintain and he’s not as crude as Atsumu unless talking to Atsumu - when Shouyou grins and gets up.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” he chirps. “A point is a point, no matter who it’s scored by or how, right? I bet liberos get really frustrated with us arguing over things like that when they can’t score themselves. A point as a decoy is worth the same as a point as an ace. All points belong to the team.”

“Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu sighs. “I mean, yer not wrong but-”

“Thanks for the food, Osamu-san,” Shouyou says, bouncing towards the door. “It was super tasty. Riseki, let’s go!”

“ _Shouyou-kun_ -”

He’s already out the door. Atsumu jerks his head at Riseki, a clear order to follow Shouyou and keep an eye on him, and Riseki doesn’t hesitate to comply. He hurries out just after Shouyou, leaving the three of them all a bit baffled about what actually just happened.

“Oi!” They jerk around to the door again. Ginjima is glaring at them as he comes in. “This is where the three of ya have been hiding, huh? What, now Kita-san and the senpais have moved on, I’m not part of the gang anymore? Or are ya trying to replace me with yer second year favorites?”

“We wouldn’t do that to ya, Gin,” Osamu says. 

“ _He_ would,” Ginjima replies, nodding at Atsumu who shrugs in return. At least he’s not denying it. Osamu is pretty sure if Atsumu doesn’t get his way with Shouyou on the team he’s going to be screwing up people’s sets in protest like the brat he is. “Anyway what’s got everyone looking down?”

“Our captain’s having troubles seducing his dream wing spiker,” Suna says.

“Atsumu, for real?” he says and slumps on the bench with them. “C’mon, man. He’s been here like a day and yer already tryna get in his pants?”

“Not like that!” Atsumu yells. “In a volleyball way.”

“Ah, but chibi-chan said Karasuno thought your setting proposal was a love confession, right?” Suna says.

“Volleyball,” he snaps. “It's about volleyball and that's it!”

“Don’t bully him too much,” Osamu says, tilting his head. “You know he can’t think about too much at once.”

“Look, I get it,” Atsumu snaps. “I’m an idiot, yeah, great, yer being so creative with yer insults, but can we get back to figuring out what the fuck just happened?”

“Why, what happened?” Ginjima says.

“My Shouyou-kun doesn’t think he’s capable of being our ace,” he says.

“I’m our ace now,” he replies. “The only one I’ll give it up to is Osamu and he’s way too lazy most the time.”

“I just don't care about stupid titles like that,” Osamu says.

“That’s not the point,” Atsumu says. “The point is Shouyou-kun doesn’t think he _can_ be. He said he could _never_ be an ace. And now they’re filling his head with bullshit ideas about being a fucking libero. I won’t allow it.”

“It didn’t feel like just low confidence after his disaster at Nationals,” Suna says quietly. “More like he was parroting something he’s heard.”

Osamu sighs and tips his head back. “This is the sort of thing we’re allowed to run to Kita-san for help on, right?”

“If it’s that serious, I doubt Kita-san would mind,” Ginjima says.

“He’d probably be honored that we thought of him and came to him for help with something that isn’t trivial,” Suna says.

It bugs Osamu, if he’s honest. It’s hard to focus on classes on the best day - really Osamu does enough to get by and little more - but something about Shouyou acting like that bothers him. Atsumu is on his phone behind his text books again, but when Osamu checks the group chat it’s pretty quiet. Whatever Atsumu is up to, it’s not public at least. Maybe he’s letting Kita know they need his advice. 

Or, if they’re lucky, things will just work out within a few days. They’re probably just jumping the gun worrying so much. It hasn’t even been two days. It takes time to make a team. Atsumu’s just getting his panties in a twist because Mr Best High School Setter can’t sync up with his dream spiker instantly and effortlessly. His ego is so fragile sometimes. Osamu can’t even take pleasure in beating Atsumu when it comes to setting for Shouyou. It feels like he’s breaking his heart. Like when Osamu was chosen as setter over him.

Well, it’s his fault for setting his heart on Shouyou with nothing but one game to go on. Atsumu always was the type to know exactly what he wanted, for better or worse.

Osamu misses Kita already.

Shouyou's things are in the main clubroom now. Atsumu had insisted the night before that Shouyou got a club uniform and moved into the clubroom. He even gave him one of the full size lockers, insisting Shouyou will make the regular team. Abusing the captain’s power for his favorite, of course. What else would you expect of Atsumu?

“Kenjou-kun,” Atsumu calls across the noise of players changing.

“Yeah?” Kenjou replies, head popping out of his t-shirt as he leans back. 

“Shouyou-kun wants to work on his receiving and passing,” he says, pointing at Shouyou, who grins and waves. “He said he wants to give libero training a shot to help him improve. Can I trust ya with him?”

“I’d be honored, captain,” he says with a grin. “I was the reserve libero at Nationals, Shouyou. Ya really can jump, huh? It was pretty awesome to watch even if I coudn't play ya at the time.”

“Thanks, Kenjou-san!” Shouyou chirps

“Just Kenjou.”

“Ok. Kenjou.” 

“Right, I’ll talk to Coach about it then,” Atsumu says. “Ah, but ya can’t have him all the time. I still wanna get some sets in.”

“Do you ever not want to get sets in?” Suna mutters. 

“Didn’t Coach say he wanted a practice match today?” Osamu says. 

Atsumu groans, head tilted back like a child told he’s got to do homework. Like he doesn’t actually love playing practice games. Atsumu really has got himself wrapped around Shouyou’s little finger already, hasn’t he? He just wants to play with him nonstop. Like a child with his new toy. 

“Well, what’s wrong with that?” Ginjima says, zipping up his jacket. “If we’re playing with the best of the newcomers, what better chance than to try things out with Shouyou-kun?”

“Ah yeah, lots of the stuff we tried was figured out in matches,” Shouyou says. “Although, it did result in a lot of missed balls and lost practice matches.” He frowns up at Atsumu. “Is that ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Atsumu replies.

“Well, I mean…” He turns away to his locker with an odd pout. “At Karasuno there wasn’t really anyone who could replace me. At least, not towards the end. There was no one who could hit Kageyama’s quicks like I could and most of our reserves were wing spikers, not middles. It sorta gave me a bit of confidence when I worked that out. And, the team said it was ok to mess up trying things in practice games, they’d cover for us.”

“And ya think we won’t?” Riseki snaps. 

“You have a lot more people who can replace me,” Shouyou says quietly. “And lots of strong players. You guys probably would have been able to recover from what happened at Nationals. You’d have a middle who could have taken over and helped win. It wouldn’t have-”

“ _Enough_ ,” Atsumu says, putting a hand on Shouyou’s head like it’s a snooze button. “D'ya think our team is weak, Shouyou-kun?”

“No,” he says.

“Then why d'ya think Karasuno could cover for ya and not us?” he says. Hinata frowns. “Did ya see me and ‘Samu mess up that quick at Nationals?”

“Y-yeah…”

“And did ya see us benched for it?” 

“...no…”

“Yeah, we have plenty of reserves. There was a reserve who could take each of our positions in case of injury. But y'know what? If me and ‘Samu can screw up in an official match at Nationals of all places, do ya think we’re gonna say that ya can’t mess up a practice game?”

“I- I guess not?”

“Practice games are for _practice_ ,” Atsumu says firmly. “It’s in the name, ya scrub. And practice is for making mistakes so ya don’t make them in official games. Kita-san says so. So mess up as much as ya like, we’ll back ya up, ok?” Shouyou nods determinedly and Atsumu grins. “We’re gonna get our timing right, I promise, Shouyou-kun.”

“Thank you, Miya-san.”

“It’s Atsumu. My name is _Atsumu_!”

“Wow,” Suna says. “He actually sounded like a captain for a moment there.”

Osamu frowns at Shouyou as he snuggles into his new jacket. It’s still a little big. They’d had to get it from their uniform supplies for liberos, something Shouyou had huffed about a lot. It’s not their fault that liberos are the only ones close to average height around here. And really, Shouyou is starting to give him mood whiplash. How does this kid go from these weird confidence issues to a smile so warm and apparently honest in no time at all?

“Oh oh, I want to get a picture of the clubroom,” Shouyou says as they’re leaving. 

“Why?” Osamu says, hanging back with him and Suna. “It’s just a clubroom.”

“It’s waaaaay cooler than ours,” he says. “There’s nothing giving away where we are, right? If you want to keep it secret, we’ve gotta make sure there’s no signs, right?”

“Why are we keeping him secret?” Kenjou calls. “We already got to see Atsuma-san’s reaction.”

“He’s a secret weapon,” Atsumu calls back. “We’re gonna totally shock the competition with him. So nothing but vague posting about him, got it?”

“Actually, it’s because I don’t want them thinking I left them for you guys,” Shouyou replies. “Especially with Miya-san’s after match offer to set for me.”

“Yer right, that does look back,” Ginjima says. “But, what was yer clubroom like that ours is that fascinating?”

“Umm, it was a lot smaller,” he says, lifting his phone. “And, we didn’t actually have lockers. Well, we had two lockers that were used for storage. Mostly it was just shelves. Oh, wait, I’ve got a picture somewhere.”

He flicks through his phone before lifting the screen. Everyone crowds around and Atsumu looks disgusted. Osamu doesn’t blame him. What _is_ that, a storage room? Are they _actually_ just keeping their things on shelves, with everything else on the same shelves? They don’t even have their own spaces? Osamu’s food would be gone in seconds. Sometimes Osamu forgets that their school is an elite, well funded haven and their volleyball team is special even among them. 

“I suddenly have so much more respect for Karasuno,” Riseki says.

“They got so far with so little support,” Atsumu says. 

Shouyou shrugs. “I mean, I didn't have a club room or coach or place to play in middle school, so to me it was amazing.”

“My wing spiker bloomed in unfunded poverty.”

“Yer so dramatic,” Osamu scolds, smacking the back of his head.

“He’s a middle blocker,” Suna says.

“He’s a libero for today,” Kenjou calls.

A message pops up on Shouyou’s screen, something telling him not to make Tanaka jealous before practice. Osamu’s not sure which of Shouyou’s former team is Tanaka, but he could imagine lots of them getting excited over the quality of their resources.

“What was yer gym like then?” Riseki says as they head towards the gym as a group. “If yer clubroom is like that, ya did have a gym, right?”

“Yeah, boys volleyball had the smaller second gym,” Shouyou says. “There was only space for one court.” Half the club makes pitying noises of sympathy that Shouyou seems totally oblivious to. “And the girl’s team shared with the basketball team, which they let us use sometimes when we stayed late to do individual practice. To be honest, I sorta preferred the smaller gym without anyone else sharing. More private.”

They nod along and Shouyou laughs as the other second years start to become comfortable chatting with him. Kenjou slings his arm around Shouyou and guides him away into the gym with Riseki sticking close. Shouyou is saying something about Kenjou looking like some Mad Dog person he played against once and does he have any scary cousins in Miyagi with an insane cut shot? Atsumu is puffed up next to Osamu, bristling with the idea of someone taking away his new toy. Osamu just pats his shoulder as Suna and Ginjima smirk. They really should have known from the start Atsumu’s captaincy was going to end up being one big joke after another. Especially with Shouyou around providing quality distractions for Atsumu.

Despite Atsumu’s huffing over Shouyou’s attention being drawn away by other team members, he gathers up the first years and leads warm ups like a good captain should. But his gaze keeps flicking back over to Shouyou the entire time. He really is so obvious. 

By the time the coaches have arrived, Atsumu has separated them out into groups and the nets have been pulled across to separate the practices. Shouyou is off with Kenjou and the libero candidates along with some of the stronger first and second year servers that Kosaku is leading. Which is, naturally, hugely distracting for Atsumu. Osamu has lost count of how many times he and Suna have smacked him to get his focus back on the training in front of him. 

Shouyou looks like he’s having fun though. He’s got the reflexes and speed to be a great libero and his positioning really is spot on most the time. And with Kenjou’s good natured direction and corrections, he’s looking like a dedicated libero rather than a hitter giving it a go in no time.

“I’m amazed yer not getting upset over this, Atsumu,” Coach Oomi chuckles, watching Shouyou.

“He’s doing it to improve his passing,” Atsumu replies. “There’s nothing wrong with that. A better pass means less work for me and a stronger team.”

“He threw his tantrum when Shouyou-kun brought it up at lunch,” Osamu says.

“It wasn’t a tantrum!” he snaps. He sighs and his shoulders slump. “He said he’d like to improve. It’s not like I mind that. He can play libero in practice games or whatever. We have no problem getting practice games, after all.”

“I was planning to take some more trips out of the prefecture for some practice matches this year too,” Coach Kurosu says. “It seemed to do us good last year, travelling to find teams you don’t know like the back of your hands and have beaten more times than we can count. And perhaps are less scared of us.”

“Travelling to find good practice partners seems to have worked wonders for Karasuno,” Suna says. “No one had heard of them for years and now they’re beating seeded National teams.”

“It’d be really cool to have some destined rivals we can practice against regularly, right?” Atsumu says.

“Having a rival to meet at Nationals would be narratively satisfying,” Osamu agrees. 

“Narratively satisfying?”

“Were those words too big for you?” 

“Enough, you two,” Kurosu says. “Get Hinata-kun and Kenjou-kun. Let’s start some matches.”

They gather up last year's regulars and the new players of interest on one of the courts. A pair of managers in training are on the scoreboard, Coach Kurosu watching over them, and some of the players from outside the regulars as officials. Kurosu, in a stroke of either genius or madness, gives Atsumu and Osamu the practice bibs as team captains. Atsumu snatches Shouyou away almost instantly and Suna joins Osamu, taking the #10 bib before Osamu can argue. He's always said something about #10 being lucky. He’s always liked the number. He might have to fight Shouyou for it this year. Osamu gets Riseki and Kenjou, while Atsumu takes Ginjima. 

The first year setter on Osamu’s team is watching Shouyou the entire time, practically sparkling, and of course that makes Atsumu bristle and turns his competitiveness right up. And it’s pretty obvious how much Atsumu dislikes the new setter making eyes at ‘ _his_ ’ wing spiker - who is still playing middle blocker right now - when he dumps the ball for the first point right next to the poor first year's head, meeting the first year’s gaze with a nasty grin on the way down. 

“Miya-san!” Shouyou yells, snapping Atsumu’s attention from glaring across the net. “I thought you were supposed to be setting to me!”

“Ah, sorry, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu laughs. “Next time, I promise.”

“You’d better,” he says with that huge, bright smile. “I’m still waiting for you to keep your promise.”

Atsumu actually looks dazzled. 

_Actually dazzled_. 

To be fair, the new setter has balls. He grabs the next point by dumping the ball straight back into Atsumu’s face. And, honestly, Osamu has never seen Suna look so proud of a first year. Shouyou snorts, polite enough at least to try and hold in his laughter. No one else on the team bothers. Osamu isn’t wheezing and cackling, unlike his brother he has some dignity, but it’s a close thing. The new setter - and damn Osamu’s gonna have to get his name - glares at Atsumu, absolutely fearless while the other first years back off or avert their gaze.

“Oh,” Atsumu hisses, pulling up to his full height, towering above the first year. “We’re gonna play like that, are we?”

“I didn't start it, Miya-senpai,” he says with a razor sharp smile.

“Alright. No going easy on ya, then.”

Atsumu and Shouyou still struggle to sync up, but at least Shouyou’s connecting with the ball now, even if it’s sloppy and turns into an unintentional feint half the time. Ginjima does a great job covering for them when they screw up. And when Kurosu snaps at Atsumu to stop only setting Shouyou, he does give the others a chance, although mostly when Shouyou and the libero swap. They’re all pretty good. They’ve got a good new bunch. The first year setter is aggressive and is trying to challenge Atsumu at every step. Of course, he’s not on Atsumu’s level but he tries, bless him, and Osamu finds his sets pretty easy to hit. He’s got a lot of potential. The new libero is pretty good too. The hitters aren’t so great. Well, they're above average, but not stand out, even when Atsumu sets for them. Which, yeah, pisses Atsumu off. He’s snapping at them constantly. Poor first years. They’re gonna be traumatised.

And then it finally happens. 

Atsumu sets way too fast for the current hitters, even Ginjima and Shouyou - at least at the speed they’ve got him moving so far. Which he realises instantly if his mortified face is anything to go by. Osamu knew his frustrations were going to infect his setting sooner or later.

But Shouyou’s _there_.

The ball slams down to the court. 

Shouyou’s eyes are glowing as he lands, glaring at the other side of the court like the demon Osamu remembers. 

And then Shouyou and Atsumu realise what they’ve done. They’re yelling and cheering, so is the rest of the team, and there are flying high fives and fist bumps all over the place.

“Shouyou!” Riseki yells, holding his hands under the net. Shouyou grins and slaps them, apparently hard enough to have Riseki pulling faces. Not that it pulls down his mood. “That was so cool, Shouyou!”

“I can’t believe we did it!” Shouyou cheers.

He grins and turns to Atsumu, who’s smiling in the most disgustingly sappy way. Oh, Atsumu is smitten, isn’t he?

“We did it, Atsumu-san!”

Atsumu’s eyes widen and then soften and, _yep_ , he’s absolutely lost to them. Shouyou has him totally whipped already. Fucking hell, his brother is an absolute mess and it’s only day two. Just having Shouyou say his name has him melting into a gooey puddle. Osamu's going to have so much fun this year.

Shouyou and Atsumu manage another few beautiful hits - and miss at least twice as many - before Coach Kurosu swaps Shouyou out for a different potential middle. Ginjima and Kosaku switch and a few others change teams. The middle on Osamu’s team is pretty good. He’s getting some nice touches on a lot of the balls, even if he’s not blocking them completely. To the point where Kurosu swaps him onto Atsumu’s team to have him go directly against Suna. He’s not managing Suna nearly as well, but who ever does? 

The new setter stays in for the entire game, even while others swap around him. Even Osamu gets swapped out at points, but not the two setters. It seems Coach Kurosu wants to see Atsumu challenged and pushed. Atsumu should really be more secure in his ability that he didn’t need to get competitive with a first year, but Atsumu is Atsumu. 

And while Atsumu is pointlessly posturing as if Shouyou and his position as starting setter were under threat from this spunky little first year, Osamu takes their time on the bench to chat with Shouyou. They’re sitting on the floor at the side of the court, Shouyou bouncing a ball against his arms steadily. He always seems to have a ball in his hands or bouncing around somewhere. 

“Why're ya so determined to work on passing and receiving, Shouyou-kun?”

“Huh?” Shouyou blinks at him before turning away with a sheepish laugh. “It’s the most important part of volleyball, isn’t it? And I suck at it.”

“Ya don’t suck,” Ginjima says. “It’s just yer weak spot. Yer looking better all the time. And, to be fair, yer hitting is above average, so it’s comparative.”

“Maybe it's because ya never had a team or coach?” Osamu says. “I guess it’s hard to practice the unpredictable balls ya’d get in a match on yer own, but ya should have got basic control.”

“I guess,” Shouyou says with a shrug. Osamu and Ginjima frown at him. “I liked to hit. Like I told you yesterday, I got friends to toss for me, just throw it up nice and high-”

“Don’t let Atsumu hear ya call that setting,” Kenjou laughs.

“So, with no one to tell me what to do, I kinda ended up just doing lots of stuff I enjoyed,” he says. “I mean, I did some of the other stuff, obviously, but when I got frustrated, I’d sorta fall back to the fun stuff to feel better.”

The three of them nod, along with the other first years sitting with them. That makes perfect sense. Without someone to guide them down the right path, they’d all focus on the things they found fun and easy rather than difficult and boring. 

“And…” Shouyou frowns and they all turn to him. “I thought… maybe a little I thought…” He shakes his head quickly and hides behind the volleyball. “It’s embarrassing.”

“You’re a teenage boy,” Coach Kurosu says. He doesn’t even glance back. “A lot of what teenage boys do is embarrassing. If you can’t do dumb things now, when can you.” Osamu lifts his head. “That’s not license to whatever dumb stuff you want, Osamu.”

How does he do that without even glancing backa t them?

“He’s right though,” Ginjima says. “We all do dumb embarrassing stuff, especially the twins. All the time. Daily, actually, Suna has a lot of footage. Mostly Atsumu.”

Shouyou sighs and lowers the ball a little. “It’s just… short guys in volleyball are liberos…”

They all just stare at him. Osamu’s not sure what that’s supposed to mean. Yeah, lots of liberos are small guys, and sure, it’s generally accepted that shorter guys would be liberos, but Osamu has no idea what that has to do with why Shouyou didn’t like receiving and passing. 

“I don’t get it,” Kenjou says. 

“I…” Shouyou bites his lip and lowers head to the ball. “If I was a good hitter and not very good and receiving and passing…” He puffs out his bright red cheeks. “It’s really stupid. I know that now, ok?”

“If you were a good hitter and terrible passer, no coach would ask you to be a libero,” Coach Kurosu says, still not looking back.

“They couldn’t force me to be a libero if I couldn’t play defence,” Shouyou says quietly. He frowns and lowers his head again. “I told you it was stupid. I was just a dumb kid.”

Kurosu glances back this time, with a little bit of a frown, before turning back to the game and his notes. Kenjou and Ginjima are frowning at Shouyou and Osamu sighs. He gets it. Yeah, he gets it now.

The conflict between wanting what you want and wanting what’s best for the team.

Shouyou had told them as much earlier, hadn’t he?

“Y'know, when we were in middle school, I was the team setter for a while,” Osamu says, watching Atsumu snapping at a first year hitter while Kosaku tries to cool him off. Shouyou tilts his head against the ball. “I was better at it than ‘Tsumu.”

“Really?” Shouyou says. He looks over at Atsumu. “I can’t imagine a time when he wasn’t the best setter around.”

“He loves being a setter,” he mutters, folding his arms around his knees and resting his chin. “It really pissed him off.” 

It broke his heart and made him who he is today, but Osamu isn’t saying that outloud. 

“Kageyama got really worked up over the idea he’d play any position other than a setter too,” Shouyou says quietly. “When we were kicked out of the gym for fighting and decided to prove we could play as a team by challenging our senpais, the penalty for losing our game was that Kageyama wouldn’t be allowed to play setter again while our captain was still there. He lost it when I said there were plenty of cool positions he could play for the year since he’s good at everything.”

Shouyou frowns. Osamu supposes he’s thinking of some incident that happened at Karasuno. But, like he said at lunch, it’s only day two. They don’t expect Shouyou to open up to them like magic. Even the members of the team he’s known for three years, he doesn’t want to tell them all his life story.

“Yeah, ‘Tsumu hated it,” Osamu says. “And so did I. Or maybe not hated the position itself but everything around it. But I like hitting. Being a full time setter and not getting to just swing at the ball, it annoyed me a lot. I felt like I’d been shackled.”

“Mmm, me too,” Kenjou says. “I was a setter my first year of middle school. I was good at reading people’s habits and blocks, so it was natural I’d get to set. I didn’t hate it, but I wanted to have everyone’s backs not be taking control. I wanted to be a libero.”

“Same with our Noya-san,” Shouyou says. “He said he’d be a libero even if he was two meters tall.” He pauses and frowns. “You can set?”

Kenjou nods. “Karasuno’s libero set too, right?”

“Yeah, he got really pumped to give it a try after he saw Seijoh’s libero do it,” he says. “It took ages to get right, and Sugawara-san had to teach him because Kageyama’s not great at communication.”

“I’ll teach ya too,” he says with a grin. “Not that it’s much of a necessary skill right now 'cause both the twins are both really solid setters, but it makes me stand out from other liberos and maybe next year it’ll be more important.”

Shouyou nods and Osamu smiles a little. Shouyou is so easy to talk to and conversations really wander in strange directions so quickly. His mind moves as fast as his legs. He doesn’t hold onto things, or so it seems. But, perhaps that momentum in conversation is a defence rather than just a habit and sign of childishness. 

“I don’t know about Kenjou-kun,” Osamu says, “but when I was a setter, I didn’t play well. I wanted to hit, so I’d start hitting rather than setting when I could. I’d smash down dumps like they were spikes. ‘Tsumu chewed me out for it all the time, because I wasn’t respecting the position he loved so much. I hated that especially.”

He hated seeing his brother so upset.

“When the coach snapped at me that I was costing them games and I would be subbed out, I told him outright that I hated being a setter. I’d rather be benched than keep playing it.”

“Whooooa.” Shouyou is staring up at him and Osamu flashes a small smile. “I don’t think I could ever do that. And... I just want to be on the court. I’m not sure I could stand telling the coach I’d rather be benched, even if I wasn’t happy.”

_And that’s the problem_ , Osamu thnks. 

“The point is, we all played badly because ‘Tsumu and I were in positions we didn’t enjoy and no amount of skill could outweigh that,” he says. “Ya don’t have to _love_ what yer doing to be good at it, but ya shouldn’t _hate_ it. That’s why no decent coach will force ya into a position yer unhappy in, if they know. And even though I hated it, I’m glad I did it even for a while, because it gave me the skills to back up ‘Tsumu better on the court.”

“I want to try being a libero,” Shouyou says, voice steady and determined. He lifts his head and Osamu smiles. His eyes are blazing and confident now. “I want to try. At least when we’re just practicing. I want to try what I was afraid of.”

“Hinata-kun,” Kurosu says. Shouyou’s head jerks up. “Take the libero bib off Miki-kun.”

Shouyou grins, nods and hurries over to swap with the first year. He takes his place on the back row behind Atsumu, beaming and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Atsumu glances back, and Osamu wonders for a second if he’ll complain, before he turns back to the net.

“I don’t play with weak players, Shouyou-kun,” he says. “We’re strong enough to cover yer mistakes. The only time we’ll ever tell you off for a mistake is if ya let that mistake hold you back. So mess up while ya can and learn fast, we’ve got yer back.”

“Ok!” Shouyou declares.

“If ya can’t make it a good pass, do yer best to make it high. Keep the ball in play. I’ll deal with it from there.”

“So cool, Atsumu-san!”

Osamu’s pretty sure the opposing setter is muttering about Atsamu being awesome too, which just proves he has no taste. But Atsumu is busy blushing like an idiot and Osamu is kind enough to snap a picture of that expression and send it to Suna. It’ll be worth it eventually. Although perhaps making Atsumu captain isn’t as much of a bad idea as it first seemed. Especially with Shouyou to spur him on. 

“What was that about, Osamu?” Ginjima says. 

“He needed to be able to say it with confidence,” Osamu replies, watching Riseki aim his spike at Shouyou and have it passed almost perfectly to Atsumu. “And he needed to know that he’s not going to be forced into a position he doesn’t enjoy.”

Ginjima frowns at him.”Yeah, but _why_? Why're ya so interested in helping him?”

“Because I’m not a dick like ‘Tsumu?” he says. Kenjou and Ginjima frown at him. So do the other second and third years. “What?”

“Sure, yer kinda surface level nicer than Atsumu, but yer as much as dick as him,” Ginjima laughs. “Ya just have a filter and keep all those rude comments in yer head or under yer breath.”

Kenjou nods. “I think yer worse than him sometimes. At least I know when I’ve pissed him off. You and Suna could be plotting my murder and I wouldn’t know.”

“I’m sure Suna’s always plotting to murder us,” Ginjima says.

“But Atsumu warns ya really loudly before that he’s ready to throttle ya,” he laughs.

“So, what’s really going on?”

Osamu sighs, leaning back on the wall and gazing up at the ceiling. “Because I’m not going to carry on playing volleyball after highschool.”

“Have ya told Atsumu?” Ginjima says.

“In a roundabout way,” Osamu says. “I’ve hinted at it. Told him every now and again. I’m sure he’s got the message but he’s not acknowledged it yet. He’s going to blow up when he consciously gets it.”

“Shit,” Kenjou sighs.

“I want to win,” he says. He sits up straighter, watching with a fond smile as Shouyou and Atsumu celebrate another point. “I want us to win Nationals. I think Shouyou-kun might be the last push we need. So the responsible ones around here have to make sure he’s at his best for ‘Tsumu.” 

Kenjou sniffles and a few of the first years look disgustedly touched. “That’s so sweet, Osamu-san.”

“It’s not sweet at all,” Osamu says, eyes narrowed. “If we don’t win now and then he wins big after high school, he’s gonna go on and on about how it was me- _us_ holding him back.”

The group nods solemnly. 

“Yeah,”Ginjima says. “He would definitely say that.”

“So we’re going to get Shouyou-kun back on form,” Osamu says firmly. “Better than ever. We’ll correct all the bad habits he got into at Karasuno and push him further. We’ll make sure he and ‘Tsumu are perfectly in sync. We’ll build a team that can take on anything thrown our way and we’ll take gold at Nationals this year. We’re not going to let ‘Tsumu say we held him back when he wins big later!”

There are yells of agreement, fist pumps and high fives all around and the group playing turn curiously. Osamu just smiles back at Atsumu. The need to shut Atsumu up - even future-Atsumu - is something that can unite the entire team. And that’s fine. Atsumu said he didn’t care about being hated. And if that’s what motivates the team, it’s all the better. They’re going to win this year, they have to.

Osamu has to win with Atsumu. 

“Y'know, he’s not the only one who sounds almost like a captain sometimes,” Ginjima says.

“I’m not going to lose to him,” Osamu replies.

Kenjou laughs. “He’s a Miya after all.”

Shouyou is not an amazing libero now they’re playing an actual game rather than drills. He handles most of the first years’ serves and spikes well enough, but Riseki’s spikes are slamming through with a determination that says ‘ _this is my year_ ’. He’s stopped aiming them straight into Shouyou to help him and is playing for real now. Shouyou is great at getting behind the ball most of the time, but his passing is still a little off and he still makes a lot of mistakes on harder to predict balls. Luckily, Atsumu really is an incredible setter and Shouyou can get the ball high most of the time. Still Kenjou looks ecstatic every time Shouyou makes a good pass, like a proud parent. And Osamu’s pretty sure Atsumu couldn’t look more like a smitten idiot if he tried. But Coach Kurosu looks pleased as they rotate through the different combinations of team members. They’ve got a great new team in the making.

After practice - after they’ve dragged Shouyou and Atsumu away from ‘ _just a little bit_ ’ of extra practice together because giving Atsumu the keys to the gym was a terrible idea - Shouyou is distracted by his phone. They grab their things from their lockers and Osamu shares out some of his food. After practice food really is the best. They walk out towards the gates together, eating slowly and chatting and laughing, but Shouyou is frowning at his phone still. 

“Something wrong, Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu says, leaning over his shoulder. 

“Ah, nothing,” Shouyou laughs. “I was gonna tell Noya-san how great I was at being a libero for the first time but…” He frowns and lowers his head a little. “They’re arguing over whether I should be in the team chat since I’m on a rival team now. I mean, not seriously, it was a joke but… now they’re sorta thinking about it seriously.”

“We need you in our chat,” Suna says.

“Ah, right,” Atsumu says. 

He snatches Shouyou’s phone away like the jerk he is. “Miya-san!”

“Hey, has yer other middle left too?” he says. 

Shouyou frowns and Atsumu turns the phone to a picture on screen. The very recognisable figure of their grumpy blond middle blockers glaring back at the camera as he puts on his headphones, still glistening with sweat and face flushed, obviously fresh off of practice too. But what’s notable is that he’s not in a black Karasuno jacket; it’s a stark white jacket with black and gold details that Osamu would recognise instantly even if **FUKURODANI** wasn’t emblazoned across the back.

“Karasuno’s screwed if yer other middle’s gone to another top ranked school,” Riseki says.

“Oh, no, that’s just Bokuto-san’s jacket,” Shouyou says.

“ _Bokuto’s?!_ ”

Shouyou blinks at them all like their surprise is the weird thing here. He nods slightly and Atsumu is frowning at the phone again. 

“I always thought Bokuto and his setter were a thing,” Suna mutters.

“Akaashi-san?” Shouyou says with a frown. “Wait. A _thing_?”

“Shouyou-kun,” Osamu says. “Giving someone yer jacket is a pretty boyfriend thing to do.”

“Oh,” he says. “If you scroll up a long way up in the chat he says he lost his jacket visiting them and Kuroo-san in Tokyo over the break so Bokuto-san gave him his. They were visiting some science thing. I don't know what it really was. Tsukki and Kuroo-san like to use big words to sound smarter but it just makes them sound like jerks.”

“Huh…” Osamu frowns. “That does sound _plausible_.”

“Or an easy lie,” Suna says. “You’ve mentioned Kuroo before. Who’s he?”

“Did you watch our day three games?” Shouyou says. “Nekoma’s captain.”

“The kittycats’ scary competent middle blocker,” Atsumu says with a hum. “What’s a grumpy first year from a no name - no offence - school doing visiting the captains of Tokyo powerhouse schools and their setter?”

“I told you, Nekoma got us invited to the Fukurodani training camps,” he replies. “Tsukki met them there. Kuroo-san taught him to block like he does. He’s the one who taught him to block Ushijima-san because he was practicing blocking against Bokuto-san. I think it started out as just he was the only tall middle blocker they could get their hands on at the time. Apparently most of Fukurodani vanish after practice because Bokuto-san’s spiking practice is endless, which doesn’t seem like a problem to me, and Nekoma was whipping Lev into shape - he was their other middle, the really tall half-Russian guy - so they managed to rope Tsukki in. I don’t think they were too picky, they let me and Lev join later, but they were definitely great friends by the end.”

“He was a good blocker,” Suna says. “Unfortunately, that made him easy to string along.”

“Atsumu-san!” Ginjima snaps. They turn just in time to see him snatches the phone from Atsumu. “He gave you permission to look at the chat, nothing else.”

“Here,” Osamu says, taking the phone. He puts in his own details and adds Shouyou so he can invite him to the team chat. “They do have a point though, Shouyou-kun. You’re not on their team anymore, yer on ours.”

“They’re my friends,” Shouyou replies.

“We’re not saying don’t be friends, of course,” Riseki says, waving his hands.

“We’re not?” Atsumu snaps.

“Miya-san,” Shouyou snaps.

“Shouyou-kun,” he whines. “Ya had my name right earlier.”

“Well now you’re being mean!”

“Riseki’s right,” Kenjou says. “They’re your friends, we get that. Suna still keeps in touch with his old team, right?”

Suna nods once. “But that was middle school. They’re all at different high schools now, so there’s only a few of them at a time who’re a threat.”

“But a team chat is different, right?” Riseki says. “We reset our group every year. It sorta sucked, having to disband the group with Kita-san and the others-”

“Especially Aran,” Osamu says at the same time as Atsumu because Atsumu loves to copy him.

“But, we’re all still friends,” he says. “And we have smaller group chats. And we’ll add the new first years into our new chat. And at the end of the year, we’ll kick these old guys out too, but I’m sure we’ll stay in touch with them too.”

“You’d better do,” Ginjima says.

Shouyou nods slightly. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Want some help to take the jump?” Riseki says. “They can always be added back later too, of course. It’s not like leaving a chat is permanent.” 

“Yeah,” Shouyou says, nodding again. This time he’s looking more determined. His voice is steady and his eyes set. “Yeah. They’re always going to be my friends, but you guys are my team.” He turns to Osamu. “Will you help me? So I don’t back out?”

Osamu nods. “What're teammates for if not to give ya a hard shove off a cliff when you’re hesitating?”

“That sounded way more evil than it needed to, Osamu,” Ginjima sighs. “Just when ya can start forgetting he’s actually a Miya…”

Osamu doesn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he types out a message for Shouyou, telling the group that it’s not a big deal and he’ll leave the group because they’re right and he’s not part of the team anymore and they can still talk outside of the team chat, trying to sound as Shouyou-y as possible. But he can’t help put in a small dig that the old third years would probably leave soon too to make room for the new first years too, in case they gotany ideas. It wouldn't do if Shouyou got upset because he left and they didn't. Atsumu would be insufferable for a start. And, of course, drops the bombshell that Shouyou is playing libero here, just to put the cat among the pigeons - or among the crows - even if they won’t see the result.

Osamu leaves the Karasuno chat and instead opens up the Inarizaki chat for Shouyou, full of team members greeting him. The greetings are various levels of tolerable and Osamu hands the phone back to Shouyou.

“You were nice, right?” Shouyou says.

“I was,” Osamu replies.

“This is where we leave you guys,” Ginjima says, heading down a street. 

Shouyou follows and Atsumu looks something close to distraught. “Shouyou-kun?”

“Ah, turns out me and Gin-senpai live a few streets from each other,” Shouyou replies. 

“Gin-senpai?” they repeat, staring back at the pair. 

Even Ginjima looks slightly bewitched at the address, grinning like an idiot as if it's the highest praise.

“It’s super great living so close to school,” Shouyou says with a grin. “A twenty minute slow walk into town is a lot better than a thirty minute hard bike over the mountains.”

“Thirty minutes over the mountains by bike?” Atsumu repeats. “That’s…”

“C’mon, Shouyou-kun,” Ginjima says, turning away. 

Shouyou nods and runs after him before falling into stride beside him. He waves over his shoulder at the group and Atsumu waves back like the soppy idiot he is. Suna has his phone out and takes a picture that almost instantly appears in the group chat. There’s an annoyingly chirpy ringtone just as they're walking away and Osamu glances back to see Shouyou grinning up at Ginjima with his phone lit up in his hand.

“Noya-san!” He’s bouncing as he walks, fist in the air like he’s greeting a friend down the street rather than over the phone. “Guys!” 

He laughs and Atsumu stops. So Osamu waits and Suna gets out his phone, waving to the others as they say goodnight and carry on. Shouyou is laughing and bouncing on the balls of his feet as he and Ginjima walk.

“It’s awesome, actually,” Shouyou laughs. “I’m being looked after super well. Oh, say hi, Gin-senpai.”

He holds out the phone and Ginjima stares at him for a moment, face flushed, before muttering an awkward greeting. And straight after that, Shouyou has pulled the phone away again.

“Yeah, I’m playing libero at the moment,” he says. “I’m gonna make you proud, Noya-san! I’m doing great for my first day as a libero, aren’t I, Gin-senpai?”

He holds out the phone to Ginjima again. “Y-yeah.”

“See!”

“Come on,” Osamu says, nudging Atsumu’s side as Ginjima and Shouyou turn a corner. “Ma’s working late tonight. Let’s have dinner at the dorms with Suna.”

Suna clicks his tongue but puts up no argument as they turn and head towards the bus stop.

“Thanks for earlier, by the way,” Suna says. “It was killing me not to be able to get pictures. He looked so disgustingly in love while we were playing.”

Osamu nods. “And threatened. As if some first year’s gonna take his spot on the starting line up.”

“Hey!” Atsumu snaps, apparently having only just figured out they’re talking about him. “That brat was getting way too cocky. Making eyes at my wing spiker like that.”

“We’re on the same team, idiot,” he says. “He’s _our_ wing spiker.”

“He’s a middle blocker,” Suna says.

“Are we really still having this argument?” Atsumu says. “He’s _my wing spiker_.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Osamu's Saturday is going badly; Atsumu's having an insecure day, Shouyou's getting frustrated and the tennis club girls are distracting. Until Akaashi Keiji, of all people, saves the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: weekly updates from now on  
> Me: updates a few days later because I have no self control
> 
> It's time for some high school drama. Girlfriends, ex girlfriends, fan clubs and Yukino. Honestly, one of the first things I thought about when I was planning this fic was yeah Atsumu's the guy who has the "too good for your friends" super star athlete girlfriend because that's what star players are expected to do.

Atsumu’s second alarm is going off. 

Saturday practice is definitely the worst. Mostly the getting up for it part. It’s something Osamu has accepted since he was young, but that never makes giving up his Saturday morning lie in any easier. At least he could get out of bed. No matter how much Atsumu loves volleyball, he seems to love sleeping more. Maybe because he keeps exhausting himself practicing too hard.

“‘Tsumu,” Osamu calls from the bedroom door. “Get yer ass up or yer gonna miss Shouyou-kun.”

“Fuuuuuck,” Atsumu groans, rolling over and putting his head under his pillow. “Why is it morning?”

“If yer not gonna get out of bed, Mikage-kun is going to be setting for Shouyou-kun all day,” he says. 

“I’m uuuuuup,” he mumbles as Osamu turns away. There’s the groan of the bed and stumbling footsteps. “I’m up already. Fuck Mikage-kun. I ain't losing Shouyou-kun to him.”

Osamu shuts the door behind him and walks away down the hall to start packing up for practice. Saturday practice is usually split. The regular team and impressive reserves have their own practice in a separate gym. Apparently Coach Kurosu is so impressed by Mikage Narumi, the first year setter who’d stood up to Atsumu, that he’d invited him to practice with them. Atsumu, naturally, is massively offended by another setter being even marginally impressive on his team and even more so because Shouyou and Mikage get along like a house on fire. Because Shouyou gets along with everyone and because it seems Mikage is a Shouyou fan. 

“Did ya make some for me too?” Atsumu yawns, chin suddenly on Osamu’s shoulder. 

Osamu sighs and shuts the lids on their lunches. “Don’t I always? Ma gets mad if I don’t. Stop leaning on me.” 

“Tired,” he mumbles. 

“I know,” Osamu says, reaching up and patting his cheek with no sympathy at all. “Yer always tired in the morning.”

“Why're ya a morning person?” he yawns and lowers his forehead to Osamu’s shoulder. “We have the same DNA.”

“Because I don’t work myself to death,” he replies. “C’mon, get off. Yer so fucking clingy when yer tired.” 

Atsumu, of course, doesn’t get off, just leans his weight more against Osamu’s back. Osamu sighs and lets him rest there as he finishes packing up their meals for the day. Atsumu has fallen asleep resting against his shoulder before. It’s amusing enough that Osamu never complains and just takes a picture for the team to laugh at later. It's been this way forever, after all. 

“D’ya think Mikage-kun’s gonna be starting setter?” Atsumu whispers.

Osamu blinks. It’s so quiet he barely heard it. So _that’s_ why he’s being clingy. “‘Tsumu…”

“Shouyou-kun likes him better than me.”

“Don’t make me smack you, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu says, jabbing his elbow back into Atsumu’s ribs lightly. Atsumu jerks back and Osamu turns on him. “Shouyou-kun loves anyone that’ll get the ball to him. He’s as easy as they come.”

“He’s not-”

“It’s volleyball, not sex, ‘Tsumu, I'm not insulting his chastity, get a grip,” he snaps. Atsumu straightens up a little. “If ya keep moping around like this, then fuck Mikage-kun, _I’m_ gonna take yer spot as starting setter.”

Atsumu pouts. “I-”

“It’s been a week. Knock it off. Yer embarrassing me. Ya sound like a needy middle schooler with a crush. Yer the best high school setter, remember? D’ya really think Mikage-kun is gonna out do you? Is this even about Mikage-kun, or are ya feeling insecure about Kageyama?”

“Huh? Tobio-kun? What about him?” 

Atsumu actually has the nerve to look _confused_. Osamu is so done. He’s been putting up with the hellish combination of Atsumu’s high standards, insecurities and volleyball crush for a week now. He's done with it. He turns to their meals and packs them into their bags. It had taken a bit to figure out just why Atsumu was being so prickly about Mikage and why he was so insecure, even more obviously than usual, but he’s finally got it.

“Yer hung up on Shouyou-kun’s ex,” Osamu says and hands him his bag. “Let’s go. I'll let ya nap on the bus as long as ya don’t drool on my shoulder.”

“Weren’tcha one who just said this is volleyball not sex? How's Tobio-kun his ex?” Atsumu snaps.

“We’re going,” he calls into the house, although there’s never a response. Instead he scrawls the time on a dry wipe board near the door letting everyone know everyone else's schedules. “It is volleyball, but Kageyama’s Shouyou-kun’s ex-setter. The bond between setter and favorite hitter can get pretty intense. Especially that sort of pair. We’re twins, it’s natural for us to share everything in a way other people don’t get, but those two...” He frowns as Atsumu locks the door behind them. “Could ya just replace me with Shouyou-kun?”

“Of course not! Don’t be stupid.”

“Then y'know ya can’t just replace Kageyama.” Osamu glances back at Atsumu’s pouting face a step behind him. “Yer never going to be Kageyama, ‘Tsumu.”

“I-”

“And yer gonna push Shouyou-kun away by obsessing over that,” he says plainly. “Yer not Kageyama, don’t try to be. Just be Miya fucking Atsumu. Annoying and rude and tyrannical and insensitive, but yourself. That Miya Atsumu who’s the best high school setter. If that’s not enough, he’s not worth it.”

“This still sounds like relationship advice,” Atsumu mutters.

“Anyone who can hit yer sets is just trash, right?” Osamu laughs. “What happened to that infuriating confidence? Mikage-kun really is going to take yer spot if you keep this up.”

“I don’t need ya judging me, y’know,” he snaps, finally getting his shit together. “As if I’m losing to that damn brat tryna to get his grubby paws on my wing spiker and my starting spot. Fuck him. Not happening. And yer right. I dunno what I was thinking comparing myself to Tobio-kun. Must be because I’m so fucking tired. Obviously I’m way beyond his level. Of course it’s gonna take Shouyou-kun time to adjust to having a better setter.”

“Of course,” he replies flatly.

Well, at least Atsumu’s issues are dealt with for now. 

Suna joins them on the bus and, having eaten his breakfast while waiting, Atsumu is thankfully napping on the window when he shows Osamu a picture in the group chat. There’s a second Shouyou. A tiny bundle of orange joy grinning over breakfast with Ginjima and Shouyou. 

“They’re multiplying,” Suna whispers.

“How’s yer sister?” Osamu says, leaning on the back on Suna’s seat. Suna actually _smiles_ and flicks through his phone. “Her team got to Nationals too, right?”

“They got knocked out on the first day,” he replies and tilts his phone. His little sister - Suna has never even told them her name - adding her medal to the massive bookcase full of medals and trophies and pictures and awards she and Suna have accumulated. “She’s just started high school.”

“Not come to save our girls’ team like Shouyou-kun for Karasuno?” Something odd flashes in Suna’s eyes. “What?”

He swipes the screen and reveals his sister in a deep red blazer. So looks so damn happy it makes Osamu melt. He’s proud of her, even with no idea what’s going on. But Suna is preening like a proud big brother - and Osamu suddenly thinks how much he’d like a big brother to look at him like that - so it’s clearly a big deal. 

“Sorry, I dunno the uniforms of the school in Aichi,” Osamu says after a moment, “but congrats to her for getting into a good school?”

Suna shakes his head. “Not Aichi. She’s been scouted outside the prefecture.”

“That’s fantastic,” he says. “Still not our girls' team though.”

“She’s beaten me on distance,” Suna says. “By a long way.”

“Stop teasing, Sunarin.”

“Niiyama Girls’.”

“ _Miyagi_?” he laughs.  “Did we just trade her for Shouyou-kun?”

“What about Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu mumbles.

“Not Shouyou-kun,” Osamu replies, smacking his shoulder. “Suna-chan got into Niiyama Girls’.”

“How’d he get into a girls’ school?” he mutters, eyes cracking open. “I’m gonna need two new middles now.”

Osamu sighs as the bus pulls into their stop. “Let’s go, ‘Tsumu. Shouyou-kun’s waiting.”

Atsumu shakes himself off as they walk from the bus stop. Some others join them. There are just as many already waiting at the school gates. Ginjima and Shouyou are there chatting away with Riseki. Despite Saturday practice starting an hour and half later than weekday practice, half of them still look exhausted. 

Atsumu sits on the wall by the gate, letting the breeze help chase away the drowsiness while they wait for the team to all be here. After a while, Shouyou hops up onto the wall to sit next to him. Really, Atsumu had nothing to worry about, Shouyou clearly adores him. Or at least is well on his way to adoring him. A lot of the first years are pretty awkward. They’re not used to hanging around with them casually yet. They’ll get over that. They’ll have to. 

“Where’s Mikage-kun?” Atsumu mutters, once most the club and managers are here. 

“Ami took him earlier,” Kosaku says. “She wanted someone to set for her before the rest of her team turned up.”

“Alright,” Atsumu says and jumps from the wall. Shouyou follows. “Let’s go, everyone. Congrats on lasting the first week, first years. Ya now get locker privileges.” 

“Who’s Ami?” Shouyou says, falling into step with Riseki. 

“The captain of the girls’ team,” Riseki replies. “She’s awesome.”

“She pretty good,” Osamu says. “We went to middle school with her.”

“‘Samu dated her,” Atsumu says. “The two of ya were a cute couple. I think ya should go back to her, you know? I mean, yer not gonna find many girls like that who’ll tolerate yer stupid face.”

“We have the same face,” he replies.

They stop at one of the gyms already in use. Mikage is inside. He throws up a high set, perfect for Ami, and she’s in the air. Her form is as beautiful as ever. Long auburn curls flow out behind her, along with the golden ribbon Atsumu gave her in their first year of middle school. When he had his first crush - of course volleyball related - and offered it to her to tie her hair back, as a good luck charm at their first tournament. Whether she realized it was because he had a crush or not, Osamu didn’t know, but she’d worn it when playing, especially in tournaments, ever since. Even when she and Osamu were dating, which sort of adds to his theory she thought it was just a good luck charm from one of her closest friends.

Ami slams the ball down right in the back corner of the court and it rebounds into the far wall with an equally intimidating slam. The first years are staring. Shouyou is bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“She’s so cool!” Shouyou exclaims. 

Ami whips around, finally realising she has an audience and instantly goes bright red. Osamu still gets tingles of pride when people praise her sometimes. As if he could still say ' _yeah, she's my girlfriend_ ' and get jealous looks from the boys around them. Then again ' _she's our girls' captain_ ' would probably work just as well. She’s almost as tall as him and Atsumu, powerfully built and left-handed. She has the potential to be one of the top girls' aces in the country.

“Atsumu-kun!” she stammers, bowing quickly. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to take yer setter, I-”

“Ami-chan, cool it,” Atsumu says, waving a hand. “Y’know I’d let ya have any member of my team ya asked for. I’d let ya keep him all day if ya wanted.”

“I couldn’t do that!” Ami argues, shaking her head quickly. 

At least, she’d be a top ace if her personality wasn't so weak. Then again, Bokuto managed. 

“First years, meet Mizushima Ami, captain of our girls’ team,” he says.

The first years bow and poor Ami staggers back at the loud greeting, stammering and stuttering in response. 

Thankfully, Atsumu takes pity on Ami and takes the club - and Mikage, although he's sure Atsumu is tempted to leave him - from Ami’s gym to let her prepare for the girls’ team. They head to the club room and Atsumu stops outside. 

“Ok, first years,” he calls as the majority of second and third years go in. Osamu waits at the door with Atsumu. “Ya can put yer stuff in any locker without a lock or name card from now on, but only during practice. Ya don't get to hang out in the club room with us at lunch yet. Lockers will be assigned week after next. Be grateful, most schools first years don’t get to use the club room at all. From now on, yer not getting picked up at the gate. If yer early, ya wait here or by the gate for someone with a key to turn up. If not, ya get here and get changed and ya can wait by the main gym, ok?”

Once he gets confirmation, Atsumu opens the door and the first years file into the club room.

Osamu is about to head in after them but a quiet call stops him dead in his tracks and he shuts the door instead. 

“At-chan.” 

_Fucking hell._

“At-chan-”

“The club’s waiting, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu hisses. “Ya can’t just go wanderin’ off now yer captain.”

“Yeah,” Atsumu says stiffly, stepping back towards the door. “Sorry, Yuki-chan.”

Osamu silently thanks whatever god is watching over them that Atsumu is listening to reason for once. _Finally_. Osamu doesn’t hold out much hope he can keep Atsumu listening to him on this for long, but he can at least buy some time.

“I just wanted to ask if yer boys wanted to come do warm ups with us, At-chan.”

Atsumu hesitates and Osamu already knows he’s going to give in.

Yukino Ai smiles. 

She knows she’s won too.

“I’d probably get into trouble with the guys if I said no to an offer like that,” Atsumu laughs sheepishly. Yukino steps forward to stand in front of Atsumu, hands tucked neatly behind her. “Is that all, Yuki-chan?” 

“Hmm…” She hums and leans forward a little. “Is that the only reason you’ll come running with me- I mean, _us_ , At-chan?”

“‘Tsumu,” Osamu hisses.

Atsumu leans against the wall next to the door, grinning back at Yukino. She smiles back sweetly and Osamu’s fighting the urge to barf. Or punch his idiot brother hard enough to make him forget this witch. Yukino is an opponent not even Kita had managed to save Atsumu from. Their beautiful, charming and ambitious ace of the girls’ tennis club - the second most successful sports club at Inarizaki, mostly because of her - has had her claw in Atsumu since their first year. Inarizaki’s own athletic power couple.

“Ya can go in if ya want, ‘Samu,” Atsumu says. “I can handle Yuki-chan on my own.”

Osamu scowls. “What happened to the baseball captain from-”

“I’m amazed ya keep track of my interests, Osamu-kun,” Yukino says. She brushes back a nonexistent strand of hair from her face. There are no stray strands. Her glossy black hair is always perfect, not a hair out of place, in beautiful intricate updos that stay even when she’s playing. She smiles and tilts her head. “I’m flattered yer so curious about me. Or perhaps them?” 

Osamu clicks his tongue and heads into the club room. He’s not getting into a fight with Yukino in the middle of the hall. He’s been accused of being jealous over Atsumu and Yukino’s relationship too many times to keep trying. Jealous Yukino’s not interested in him. Jealous Yukino’s taking his brother’s attention. Jealous he doesn't have a girlfriend right now. Jealous over everything.

He slams his locker door and Suna holds out his hand for the money Osamu now owes. 

_Fuck_. 

“Everything ok, Osamu-san?” Shouyou says quietly.

“It’s that time of year again,” Suna says. 

“ _Again_?” Ginjima groans. 

“Yukino?” Kosaku says.

A few of those closer to them groan and mutter about being here again. Suna pats Osamu’s arm lightly and Osamu flashes a smile back. He's already exhausted. 

“Who’s Yukino?” Shouyou says. “And where’s Atsumu-san?”

“She’s captain of the tennis club,” Ginjima says. “Her and Atsumu have been on and off since the moment they saw each other. It’s ridiculous.”

“She’s super hot though,” Kenjou calls. “Makes up for a lot of her flaws.”

“Not those flaws,” Suna mutters.

“Huh?” Shouyou tilts his head, looking between them all. “I don’t get it.”

Osamu puts his hand lightly on Shouyou’s head. “I’ll explain some other time, ok?”

“...ok…” Shouyou says with a frown. “As long as everything’s ok.”

“Just know she’s a grade A bitch,” Suna says.

“That means a lot coming from you, Suna-san,” Shouyou says quietly.

Well, Shouyou’s perceptive if nothing else. He’s definitely aware that something’s wrong, even if he’s not sure what. And Osamu is grateful he doesn’t push for answers right now. He’s not even talked to Atsumu about his real issues with Yukino - mostly because Atsumu turns it into an argument every time he tries. Only Kita and Suna knew. He’d never been entirely sure how to handle her. No one seemed to know how to handle her. 

“Ready to go, everyone?” Atsumu calls, striding in. His grin is a sure sign Yukino got her way and has manipulated Atsumu into thinking it’s what he wants and he’s the winner. He shoves his things in his locker quickly and turns to Yukino waiting in the doorway. “We’re going running with the girls from the tennis club.”

“It’s always motivating to have handsome men to train with,” Yukino says softly. “Don’t you agree, Osamu-kun?”

“We could ask Ami if the girls from the volleyball club want to come too,” Osamu says, completely ignoring her. “Since we’re going to have ladies distracting us anyway, a few more won’t hurt.”

Atsumu grins. “Are ya finally listening to me, ‘Samu? I knew you and Ami-chan still had feelings for each other.”

“It’s not like that,” he sighs.

“I didn’t think Mizushima was yer type, Osamu-kun,” Yukino says.

“Huh?” Atsumu glances between them. “They were together for like a year and a half. She’s very his type. They were together when we started dating.” He laughs and heads out the door with the team following. “They were so perfect for each other I couldn’t even be mad he stole my first love.”

“It was a crush,” Osamu mutters. “And I told ya plenty if it bothered ya I wouldn’t see her.”

“C’mon, ‘Samu, I’m conceding defeat here,” he laughs, nudging Osamu’s side before Yukino grabs his arm. “Just accept it like ya normally would. When it comes to Ami-chan, ya won. Just don’t gloat. Not like I haven't got my own prize.”

“Wouldn’t dare,” he says flatly.

They head out into the school and pick up Ami and the girls’ team. Much to Yukino’s obvious disapproval. But, there’s no complaints from either team. Yukino wasn’t wrong - having someone attractive around to impress was a good motivator for the teams. 

“Yer not running off ahead, Osamu-kun?” Ami says quietly from his side. “Aren’t the two of ya usually racing off?”

“That’s when there’s someone to race,” Osamu replies.

He and Ami glance back. They’re at the head of the group setting the pace while Atsumu is further back chatting away with Yukino as they run. Captains doing a _great_ job. Not that Osamu’s surprised. It’s always like this at the start of the year. Kita barely kept a lid on it by changing up their schedule to avoid the tennis club. 

But everyone is in good spirits. Kenjou is getting girls’ opinions on whether he looked better with a shaved head or now with it a bit more grown out and blond. Yukino and Atsumu are surrounded by a crowd of fawning idiots. Riseki is so red Osamu’s amazed he’d got any blood left to go to his limbs. And surprisingly enough, Mikage is interested in Shouyou enough to be running alongside him and chatting away. You wouldn’t know Shouyou's not in best condition given how easily he keeps pace with far bigger players. His little legs have to take two strides for every one of Osamu’s, but he shows no signs of tiring. And that Atsumu isn’t puffed up and defensive over Mikage being this close to Shouyou is proof that Yukino has him totally spellbound. 

“I’ll race you, Osamu-san,” Shouyou says.

“I thought ya seemed like the type,” Kosaku laughs.

“I used to race Kageyama all the time,” he replies. “I won loads. But… I sorta got a bit ahead of myself sometimes and got lost without anyone ahead of me. That’s how we met Ushijima-san. Kageyama's sense of direction is as bad as mine.”

“You met Ushijima-san?” Mikage says and Ami is watching him too. “I knew you played him but-”

“He was so mean,” Shouyou huffs. “Like not like _mean_ mean like Tsukki but mean. He called us weak. He said the words of someone on a team who couldn’t even beat Seijoh didn’t mean anything to him. Something about Seijoh being infertile soil so it couldn’t produce fruit. I don’t get metaphors.”

“Ginjima, yer in charge,” Osamu calls. “Don’t let Suna slack. Push him along if you have to.”

Ginjima almost trips. “Huh?!”

“Screw you, Osamu,” Suna mutters.

“Keep up, Shouyou-kun,” Osamu says. He smiles down at Ami. “I’ll see you back at school. Unless yer coming?”

“Go on, I'm not stupid enough to race ya,” Ami says with a smile. 

“We’re going on ahead, ‘Tsumu,” he calls over his shoulder. Atsumu’s head jerks up. “Since yer being so slow today, I’m taking Shouyou-kun ahead.”

Atsumu opens his mouth but it’s Yukino who speaks up. “Wanting to keep him all to yourself, Osamu-kun?”

“Let’s go, Shouyou-kun,” he says.

He pushes forward and breaks away from the group in a few strides. Seconds later, Shouyou’s footsteps move up behind him.

“See ya later, Narumi-kun,” Shouyou calls.

And then he’s right next to Osamu, grinning up at him expectantly. Alright, if Atsumu wants to moon over Yukino, as always, he’ll focus on Shouyou instead. So he picks up the pace to see just how competitive Shouyou wants to be.

It’s not a long run, usually it’d only take the team fifteen minutes, enough to let the managers set up and get everyone warm and awake. Shouyou stays right next to Osamu the entire time, even as he keeps pushing faster. Nothing uncomfortably fast, he doesn’t know Shouyou’s limits well enough yet, but well ahead of the pack and an actual run rather than jog. They round the corner to the school again and Osamu grins. 

“Final sprint,” Osamu says. “First to the main gym.”

He doesn’t wait for confirmation before taking off. Shouyou yells something about a flying start and moments later Shouyou is pulling ahead of him. Damn, that brat is fast. But Osamu won’t be beaten and dashes after him through the school. 

“I won,” Shouyou pants, collapsed on the steps of their main gym. One of the managers comes over and offers them each a bottle of water. “I totally won.”

“No way, brat,” Osamu replies between mouthfuls of water. “It was my win.”

Shouyou laughs. “Just this once, I’ll let you call it a draw, Osamu-san.”

“I’ll let _you_ call it a draw, Shouyou-kun,” he says.

Shouyou grins and drinks deep from his bottle. He flops against Osamu’s side and Osamu is surprised by how much he doesn’t hate it. Probably because Atsumu is busy with Yukino again. It might not be true that Osamu is jealous of Yukino stealing Atsumu’s attention, but it does suck to have his brother - his twin who’s always been by his side - suddenly not there. He’s replacing Atsumu with Shouyou. Competitive, loud and determined. 

“You and Yukino-san don’t like each other, huh?” Shouyou mutters.

“What was yer first clue?” Osamu says.

“I’m not gonna ask for details because it seemed private back in the club room,” he says and Osamu is pretty glad for that, “but is it a serious thing or a petty thing?”

“It’s a serious thing,” he replies. 

Shouyou nods. “Then I don’t like her either.”

Fucking hell, he’s adorable. It’s like a damn puppy deciding not to like someone being mean to its master, not that it could do anything actually scary. 

“Ami-san’s a lot nicer,” Shouyou says after a pause. “Umm, Yukino-san feels like she’s looking down on us-”

“It’s pretty hard not to look down atcha, Shouyou-kun,” Osamu chuckles.

“Hey! I’m trying to be supportive,” he huffs. Osamu nods a little and Shouyou frowns. “She acts like she’s too good for us.”

Osamu nods. He’d never say as much to Atsumu, but he’s wondered more than once if Yukino would be interested if he wasn’t on the starting line up. She’s a glory hungry bitch. But, of course, Osamu knows better than anyone else how insecure Atsumu can be. He doesn’t need to pile that on top. The one good thing about Yukino is that she eases his insecurities, at least for a while.

“But, Ami-san’s nice,” Shouyou says. “She reminds me of Asahi-san. He was so big and scary looking but a total wimp off the court. Total opposite of our libero.” He grins. “Do you like her?”

“She’s nice,” Osamu says. “She’s a good friend.”

“Is Atsumu right and you’re gonna ask her out again?” he says. 

Osamu snorts. “Unlikely. Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean he knows everything about me.”

“I thought twins had some psychic link. Seemed like it when we played you guys.”

“Nope. That's totally fake. Everyone has secrets, Shouyou-kun, even twins.” Shouyou frowns as the other teams finally come around the corner. Osamu brushes himself off and stands. “Those secrets can get you into trouble.”

Shouyou’s frown deepens, gazing up at him for a moment before nodding. Osamu wonders if he understands. There’s a very strange look in his eyes. Sometimes, Shouyou’s a bit too emotionally perceptive. Honestly, Shouyou’s a bit of a mystery, has been since their match. Kita said Shouyou and Kageyama, and possibly their libero too, were monsters like him and Atsumu. Osamu’s really not sure what that _actually means_ though. He can understand Atsumu, of course, and he thinks Kageyama makes sense. But sometimes when Shouyou looks at him… he thinks there’s something very different about him.

Osamu holds out his hand and Shouyou grasps it. He pulls Shouyou up from the ground as the team joins them. The girls team runs on towards their gym with waves and the tennis club lingers. Osamu clicks his tongue, handing off his water bottle to the manager so he can change his shoes. She beams back at him, cheeks flushed and eyes wide but Osamu couldn't care less. Atsumu is laughing with Yukino. 

“Let’s go,” he calls to the club, ushering them inside the main gym. “‘Tsumu!”

“I’m comin’,” Atsumu replies. 

“I’m sure,” Suna mutters as he heads past. “C’mon, chibi-chan.”

“Right!” Shouyou chirps. “Osamu-san?”

Atsumu laughs and leans down to kiss Yukino. And that’s where Osamu draws the line. He turns away and follows the rest of the team inside. It’s always like this. The start of the year when Yukino’s latest boy has left her, moved onto university or fallen out of favor over the break or lost their big competition, she always reels Atsumu back in. 

“What’s with yer face?” Atsumu says, joining him inside. 

“We have the same face,” Osamu replies.

“Yeah, but yer doing ugly things with it,” he says. He tilts his head and Osamu follows his gaze. Shouyou is talking animatedly with Suna. “Is this because of Yuki-chan?”

“I’m not gonna fight over this again, ‘Tsumu,” he says. “We’ve done it enough times. We agreed to stay out of each other's love lives, remember?”

Atsumu narrows his eyes. “Why can’tcha be happy for me? I mean, you were less jealous when I was picked for the All Japan Youth.”

“Because she leaves ya in pieces for us to pick up every time,” he mutters. “Let’s leave it at that. Get on with warm ups.”

Atsumu frowns at him but Osamu walks away to join Shouyou and Suna. It’ll be fine. The relationship will last few months at most, Yukino will leave him and the team will get him back on track with volleyball - at least that’ll be easier with Shouyou here - and everything will go back to normal for another few months before Yukino moves in on Atsumu again. It’s a cycle they can’t seem to break. Osamu will be glad when this year ends in that respect, so Atsumu can finally, hopefully, be free of her. So they can all be free of her.

The coaches arrive just before warms up and Coach Kurosu has them all gather around so he can split them off into the two groups. Atsumu’s offense that Mikage - and the first year libero Osamu hasn’t bothered to learn the name of yet - is put with the potential regular group is only mildly soothed by Shouyou being with them too.

“First years, except for those in the regular group, you’re off next week until Saturday so we can work with the new applicants," Kurosu says at the end of running through the agenda for the day. "The Inter-High Qualifiers are coming up fast and we have barely any time to prepare, as always. It’s likely we’ll go with a starting lineup consisting mostly of last year’s regulars. That said, to make sure we’re up to scratch for that, Golden Week is going to be full for us. We have two confirmed practice matches and many in the negotiations but we’re still working out the schedules. We might be playing two games a day the entire week. It will be a slog and we’ll test out a lot of lineup combinations. Use this time to learn and prepare for how tough Nationals can really be.”

Two matches a day through all of Golden Week? That’s a harsh schedule. Osamu glances at Shouyou. He’s not showing any signs of worry but he couldn’t handle Nationals. Is he going to be ok? If he gets sick again, is it going to knock Atsumu off his game?

“We’ll be travelling to Tokyo to face Fukurodani and Itachiyama to kick off the week.”

Shouyou’s head jerks up. “Fukurodani?”

“They had a good year last year,” Coach Kurosu says. “Second overall at the Spring Tournament isn’t bad. But, we’ve done just as well, don’t forget that. There’s no reason we can’t beat either team so don’t get overwhelmed by their last results.”

There’s a yell of agreement from the group but Shouyou is frowning. Osamu pokes his side and Shouyou turns to him. After a moment, he nods and smiles. That’s better. A week in Tokyo playing volleyball all day against some of the best teams out there? It’s the sort of thing Atsumu and Shouyou probably dream about. Osamu might not be quite their level of volleyball obsessed but he’s pretty excited about it too.

“We’ve essentially put out an open invitation to all schools in the area,” he continues. “We’ll play any team who wants a shot as long as our schedules can be worked out, first come first served. Hopefully we’ll get to play some interesting teams we haven’t come across before. Underdogs who want a shot at a team they usually wouldn’t be able to face. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?”

“So we’re just gonna play and play all week?” Atsumu says. “With any random team who wants us? No requirements necessary? What about the sucky teams?”

“What about them?” he replies. Atsumu frowns and Kurosu gestures to Shouyou, who’s shoulder’s go rigid. “No one had heard of Karasuno for years before they defeated Shiratorizawa. Who knows what other hidden gems are out there struggling to evolve stuck beneath the ceiling of an overwhelmingly dominant top school?” Kurosu smiles. “I want to find more Karasunos for you boys to test yourselves against.”

“Like Nekoma,” Shouyou says quietly.

“Ahhh, we’re gonna play the kitty cats too?” Atsumu drawls.

“We’re talking to them,” Oomi says. Shouyou’s eyes go adorably wide. “They’re in Miyagi for Golden Week though. We’re both doing our best to figure out a schedule that will suit as both.”

“Oh,” Shouyou says quietly. “They’ll be having training camp with Karasuno…”

“We’re also talking to Nohebi, the fourth placed team in the Tokyo playoffs.” They all nod and Kurosu flips a paper on his clipboard. “There are two other matters I need to talk to you all about. Firstly, do you want us to look into a practice match with Karasuno or wait until Nationals?”

Everyone glances at Shouyou, even if most are polite enough to try and hide it. Atsumu sighs and tilts his head, considering Shouyou with something like a pout. Shouyou gazes back at him and then cocks his head. And Shouyou thinks it's _Osamu_ who has the psychic link with Atsumu? 

“If it comes our way, we’ll take it,” Atsumu says at last. “Shouyou-kun can fake an injury and not play if he’s feeling conflicted over it. Him I can understand. Anyone else who’s too chicken to play ‘em can get their ass off my team and let someone willing to take the challenge take their spot.”

“I thought you’d want me to stay out of Karasuno’s way so I can be a secret weapon at Nationals, Miya-san,” Shouyou laughs. 

“Shouyou-kun, c’mon, yer being mean about my name now.”

Kurosu clears his throat and they turn back to him. “Secondly… We’ve had an… _odd_ request. Usually I’d accept or decline without consulting you boy but this is a special case.”

“More special than Karasuno?” Osamu says.

“I told you we’d put out an open invitation to all teams in the area,” Kurosu says. They nod. “One of the top girls’ teams would like a match.”

That announcement is met by silence. A girls’ team? It’s not like there’s any reason they _can’t_ play a girls’ team. Typically, boys teams focus on power and offense and girls teams focus on speed and defence, but there are always exceptions and high schoolers are all still developing. They can probably put up a good match. The biggest problem for a girls’ team would probably be whether they have the physical strength to block and receive their big hits. The boys’ would generally have a tougher time keeping up with their faster, often more strategic offense. But, being one of the top teams, Osamu imagines it’ll be a far more even match than most people would imagine. Inarizaki’s offence is one of the fastest there is, probably more speed than power now with Shouyou added and Aran gone, and there were some really big hitters in the top girls’ teams at Nationals. It could be interesting. 

“I mean, I’ve got no problem kicking a girl’s ass if they’re the one doing the challenge,” Atsumu says after a moment. “They came to us first, they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t think they stood a chance, right?”

“Alright, I’ll accept it for you then,” Kurosu says. “Only the regulars and two managers will be travelling with us. I’ll hand out uniforms the week after next and we’ll start testing a starting lineup then. And that’ll do for now. Let’s get to work.”

Last year's regulars, Shouyou and the two first years head out with Kurosu and three managers who managed to fight off the others. They leave the majority of the team to practice with Coach Oomi while they head to a smaller private gym. Osamu imagines this is what Karasuno’s gym must look like. A single court with a gallery above and huge windows to let the light stream in. Only, he imagines theirs is a lot better quality than Karasuno’s. Karasuno only seemed to have the twelve members on their court and bench though. Inarizaki only ever has twenty or so people in this one. He can’t imagine Karasuno doing _all_ their work in something like this. 

“Atsumu,” Kurosu says. Atsumu glances over. “I want you to teach Mikage-kun properly.”

“I’m good enough,” Atsumu argues. “And ‘Samu fills in if I’m in a mess-”

“And if you get injured and have to be taken off the court, Atsumu?” he says. “We need a reserve. And teach him _properly_ , not just enough to fill in. Or would you like to leave Hinata-kun without a setter who can make him shine next year? Would you like to lose because we don't have a setter capable of helping out team win in dire straights? Do you want us to lose if we lose you?”

Atsumu clicks his tongue but nods. “Fine. Fiiiiine. Mikage.” 

“Senpai?” Mikage replies, turning quickly. 

“We’re gonna work with Shouyou-kun,” he says, stomping towards the far side of the net. “We need to get ya setting for him decently and, Shouyou-kun, ya _gotta_ start jumping _properly_ even if yer not going full speed.”

“I am jumping properly,” Shouyou replies.

“Yer not,” he snaps. “At Nationals you were way up like above the net. Yer barely at Shiratorizawa height right now. We’re getting ya back up there if I have to drag ya up set by set.”

One of the managers hurries after them with a ball bin and bag of drinks. Shouyou is bouncing on his toes in anticipation and Mikage is grinning back at him. Osamu has no doubt Atsumu _could_ drag Shouyou up by slowly increasing the height of the sets but it would be a pain in the ass and he doesn’t think Atsumu has the patience, especially with Mikage challenging him. He’s not an All Japan Youth level setter yet, but he definitely could be with the right training. If Atsumu wanted to train him.

“Osamu,” Kurosu says. He nods. “Set for the other hitters. Kenjou-kun, take Houjou-kun and receive for them.”

Osamu can hear the trio behind him even while he’s setting for the line of hitters. He can hear the whoosh of the ball from the setters hands, the thud of Shouyou’s feet on the floor before he takes off and the smack of the ball from hand to floor. He’s hitting pretty much every set but they’re slow. Atsumu’s faster than Mikage’s but still slow. Maybe they’re focusing on height. 

“That was way too low, Mikage!” Osamu’s shoulders tense up at Atsumu’s suddenly raised voice. “How was Shouyou-kun supposed to hit that?”

“He jumped higher, Atsumu-san,” Kenjou called from the other side. 

“I definitely felt higher,” Shouyou says. “You said I should jump higher. What’s the problem? Even Kageyama missed when I suddenly jumped higher. Like when I... forgot...”

Shouyou let's out an embarrassed whine and Osamu glances back. His face is bright red and in his hands, muttering about how awful it was. It was awful to watch, never mind to live through. Kageyama was low, but Shouyou didn't even swing, just grinned like an idiot.

“I did think it seemed odd he missed ya that first jump,” Osamu says, in a weak attempt to reassure him. 

“Ya can’t just use that as an excuse,” Atsumu snaps. “If ya wanna ever set Shouyou-kun quicks, let alone a minus tempo set, yer gonna have to pay more attention than that.” He's towering over Mikage, who’s glaring right back. “A setter has to pay attention to everything to support his hitters best.”

“It’s fine, Narumi-kun,” Shouyou says, pushing the two apart. “We all make mistakes.”

“I don’t,” Atsumu mutters.

“You missed a quick and a serve at Nationals,” he argues. “If those aren't a mistakes I don’t know what is, Miya-san.”

Mikage beams. “Thank you, Hinata-senpai.”

Shouyou’s face is suddenly so open and soft and flushed. Osamu could swear there’s tears in his wide eyes. It's impossibly cute. He lays his hands on Mikage’s shoulder and nods firmly.

“I understand now,” he says quietly before raising his voice. “We’ll get it, Narumi-kun. I’ll help you as much as I can, because I’m your senpai.”

“Thank you!”

“My set, Osamu,” Suna says. “Now the side show is over?”

“Right,” Osamu says.

He’s itching to hit. He wonders if he’ll get in trouble for smacking down a dump just to see if Kenjou can make it. And is it worth Suna being pissed at him for making him jump and not getting the ball to him? So he sighs and focuses on sending the ball up for Suna’s quick. Suna’s core strength really is ridiculous. The way he swings is wonderful to watch. They’ve yet to figure out how to actually stop it at a block. Receiving seems to be the best way. Houjou manages to get behind the hit and get it up, although it’s a long way from any kind of perfect pass. 

“‘Samu!” 

Osamu turns. Shouyou is in the air and Mikage is just letting the ball fly. Osamu takes one step back as run up, then takes off. The ball sails over Shouyou by a mile - Atsumu’s gonna hate that - but reaches Osamu almost perfectly. 

The feel of a ball slamming right into Osamu’s hand is something he never gets tired off. 

The smack of the ball on Houjou’s platform, hard enough to send him falling back.

Osamu lands with a satisfied sigh. That feeling never gets old. Shouyou is huffing and arguing with Atsumu because he thought it was coming for him. Osamu knows that feeling too. The frustration of being used as a decoy when he’s desperate for the ball. 

“But that was way too obvious,” Atsumu snaps. “Any decent team will have got their blockers up in front of ‘Samu straight away.”

“That’s where yer setting for Hinata-senpai,” Mikage mutters. 

“Because I know where Shouyou-kun can hit,” he replies. “I can get him up there.” 

“How was it for ya, Osamu-senpai?” he says, turning from Atsumu. Naturally, Atsumu is fuming behind him. “Can I set for ya to make up for ya having to set for everyone else?”

Osamu smiles and glances at Coach Korusu, who nods. “Feel free.”

Mikage’s grin is almost as dazzling as Shouyou’s sometimes is. Kurosu directs the others to jump blocks for them. 

After a while, Osamu overhears Atsumu telling Shouyou he’s setting at the height he was hitting at the Shiratorizawa match from now on and Shouyou has to get up there. He's got to come up to the ball, even if it's not as high as they know he can go, they need a proper start. Shouyou actually seems reassured when Atsumu tells him firmly that he’s done playing down to him.

“I thought setters were supposed to support their hitters,” Mikage mutters.

“‘Tsumu supports his hitters in his own way,” Osamu replies. “Him and Shouyou-kun are trying to figure out ‘Tsumu and Shouyou-kun at last. There’s only so long he could keep thinking about Kageyama and Shouyou-kun.” He glances at Mikage, who looks a little confused. “Don’t think about Shouyou-kun and another setter either. Copying someone else is a good enough base and gives you an idea where to start if you've got no idea, but if ya wanna be a real setter, ya have to figure out yer own path.”

Mikage grins and nods. “I’m gonna surpass him, don’t worry.”

“I hope ya do.”

“ _Shouyou-kun!_ ” Atsumu snaps.

Mikage turns and Osamu clicks his tongue. “I’m over here, Mikage-kun. Focus.” 

“Right!” Mikage says with a nod. 

Shouyou and Atsumu are _loud_. Over the few hours of practice, which Atsumu and Shouyou basically dedicate to each other, Osamu has a new appreciation for Karasuno. If Shouyou and Kargeyama were anything like this, he feels for them. But, it’s better than before. Even if they’re yelling at each other a lot of the time, they’re communicating rather than Atsumu assuming based on what he’s seen Shouyou do. Atsumu is trying to get to the bottom of Shouyou not jumping and Shouyou is trying to tell Atsumu where he wants the ball. 

Problem is, from listening to them, Shouyou isn’t used to asking for a ball where he wants it. Kageyama put the ball basically in Shouyou’s palm. Slow hits don’t seem to be a problem, but when they start moving into faster sets, he’s definitely struggling to explain what he needs from Atsumu. 

“What happened to focus, Osamu-senpai?” Mikage says. 

“You really are a brat,” Suna says from the other side of the net. 

“Ya don’t get to the top playing nice,” he replies.

“Alright,” Coach Kurosu calls, clapping his hands. “Break for lunch. Take an hour and then we’ll be back here, ok? Atsumu, Osamu, wait a second.”

They both hang back while the rest of the group heads out to the locker room to grab their lunches. Coach Kurosu sighs and looks over at them. Osamu knows what’s going to happen. They’re going to talk about Shouyou. It’s not like he’s not hitting the ball, but they can’t have a hitter on the team taking up a spot just because Atsumu wants him. He's too hit and miss right now. He's not going to make the starting line up as he is, maybe not even get a uniform.

“Any thoughts?” he says.

“He sucks,” Atsumu says. Osamu snorts. “I mean, he’s amazing, but he sucks. You can totally tell he’s not been playing long. His technical skill is like non-existent.”

“You can see why Coach Washijou said he had no worth without Kageyama,” Osamu sighs. “He has raw talent polished by Kageyama’s overwhelming technical ability.”

“That pinpoint toss,” he mutters. “That falling toss. Things I can’t do. I’m not a genius, I can’t calculate his every move before he does it and put the ball in his palm, or stop it in mid air so he can think. I can’t compensate for his lack of technique and experience with some unfathomable genius.” 

“Yer doing it again,” he says. Atsumu glares at him and Osamu shrugs. He's not going to sugar coat it. “Kageyama has his talents. What are yours? What makes you the best high school setter?”

Atsumu frowns and lowers his head a little. “We’ll talk to him over lunch.”

Osamu uncharitably thinks he’ll probably meet up with Yukino and have lunch with her instead. His love life, Yukino at least, is one of the few things that can rival his love of volleyball. Temporarily, at least. Kurosu nods and they head out to get their lunch from their lockers. 

Most of the team is on a grassy hill behind the main gym. They’re mostly hiding in the shade of the trees and looking out over the sports field. The track team and soccer teams are still practicing. Shouyou is sitting a little way off on the phone. Suna is leant against the tree nearby. And when Osamu realises the tennis club is here, he realises Suna might actually be guarding Shouyou. It’s cute.

“I’ll talk to him when he’s off the phone,” Atsumu says. “Probably talking with Karasuno.”

Osamu nods and Atsumu goes to join Yukino. She smiles and kisses his cheek. So Osamu goes to join Suna and Shouyou. Suna nods in greeting and Osamu remains quiet as he sits. If Shouyou is on the phone with his friends, they’ll respect his privacy and not give him away.

“- totally failing, Bokuto-san,” Shouyou huffs. “I’m not jumping high enough and not hitting properly and it just sucks.”

Bokuto, huh? Well, if anyone knows about getting inside their head and screwing up shots, it’s Bokuto. He’s hardly the worst source of advice. He and Shouyou are probably very similar personalities. 

“Of course I’m stressed,” he says. “I can’t hit the ball properly. I might end up in Emo Mode if this keeps up.”

He huffs and shoves food in his mouth and Osamu smiles absently. Suna might be mostly blank, but there’s a warmth to his blankness. And if Atsumu thinks he doesn’t notice him looking their way every five minutes, like he’s checking Shouyou hasn’t got sick of their failures and run away from him, he’s very wrong. 

“Kuroo-san…” Not just Bokuto then. Shouyou whines and tilts his head. “Most the game, I guess.” He wrinkles his nose at whatever comes next. “Couple months. But I wanna be able to hit now. It feels _soooo_ pathetic to just keep missing. I’ve got an amazing setter but it’s not working. It’s like I’m the problem. I’m so bad I’m dragging him down. Like I really do need Kageyama or I'm useless.”

Shouyou cringes in a way that’s so obviously someone being told off. But, despite huffing and pouting, Shouyou listens. He’s impatient and hiding his distaste for the lecture in his eating, but at least he’s not one of those brats who refuses to listen to advice from his seniors.

“Umm, the first game against Tsukki… and Inuoka… and Date Tech…” He frowns and lowers his head. “The three on three games… Wakutani…” There’s a pause and Shouyou wrinkles his nose in that adorably put out way again. “The wall. We need a wall. Hey, Kuroo-san-”

He’s interrupted with enough force Osamu and Suna can hear the voice firmly telling him he won’t be travelling to help him, he has classes and Shouyou has his own volleyball team already there. Shouyou sighs, then grins. He lifts his head and glances around. 

“Anyone got some paper and a pencil?” he calls. One of the managers hurries over and offers Shouyou a pad of paper with a shy smile. “Thanks. Yeah, yeah, I’ll write it exactly as you say, don’t worry.”

Now Osamu is curious. He shuffles over to sit right next to Shouyou so he can read over his shoulder as he eats. His writing’s a mess, but at least it’s legible. And when Osamu takes a moment to consider the notes a little more, he realises they’re setting notes. 

_Oh_.

If Shouyou’s on the phone with Bokuto and Kuroo, then from everything they know about Bokuto and everything Shouyou has told them, Akaashi Keiji is there watching over them. And if he really is writing exactly what Akaashi is telling him to, then Akaashi is actually a literal angel. Or an undiscovered genius. 

Osamu always thought, when push came to shove, he was probably on par with a lot of the setters at Nationals. He’s not Atsumu and Kageyama, but he could probably be a starting setter on almost any team he went to. So, he’d never really considered Akaashi special. He was aware of him. It’s impossible not to be at National level. He’s Bokuto’s - _Fukurodani’s_ \- setter and a media darling - a quiet pretty boy always faithfully at Bokuto’s side. Just by existing, Akaashi caused waves, but Osamu never considered him _special_.

Their first year, their first time at Nationals, Atsumu had insisted on dragging Osamu and Aran - and so Osamu insisted on dragging Suna - to see Fukurodani play their first match. First years on the starting line up at powerhouse schools are unusual, so of course Atsumu wanted to snoop on another first year setter. The way Atsumu looked at Akaashi that match, Osamu almost thought he was having some kind of sexual awakening. He wouldn't have blamed him.

Of course, it wasn’t. It was his volleyball thing, but the difference can be hard to tell sometimes.

_“He’s not much to watch,”_ Atsumu had said afterwards, _“and all his sets are pretty simple, but they’re full of love and care. He’s setting to make his hitters shine.”_

_“Akaashi-san’s really good at thinking on his feet,”_ Shouyou said the first day, _“and is really devoted to his hitters.”_

And now Osamu gets it. Akaashi is seemingly listing off Shouyou’s habits and quirks as a hitter for him to write down. Things that Shouyou doesn’t have the technical knowledge or experience to express for himself and that Atsumu would take time to work out by himself. Having someone else fill in the blanks with prior experience is a godsend. But that Akaashi managed all this from just some free practice during a few training camps is a testament to how incredible and underappreciated he really is.

“Ah, I didn’t know you were recording those,” Shouyou says at last, putting down the pencil. He frowns and nods along with something on the other end. “Mmm, if you think it’d help. Thank you, Akaashi-san.”

Out the corner of his eye, Osamu catches Atsumu’s head jerking around. Ah, the idea of his precious wing spiker talking to another high class setter has got him territorial, has it? Well, they are going to be playing Fukurodani soon. Technically they’re the enemy. 

“What are Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san doing at Fukurodani anyway?” There’s a pause and Shouyou nods thoughtfully. “That does sound like a threat Kenma would make, yeah.”

Once Shouyou had finished writing, Osamu takes the notes so he could focus on eating. Phone calls didn’t excuse not having lunch. Looking over the notes gives Osamu a good way to ignore Atsumu and Yukino, and all the hormones in the air, too. Atsumu was right, managers are too much of a distraction. So were the girls of the tennis club.

Eventually, Shouyou ends the call and Osamu thinks he knows way more about Shouyou’s former training partners than he ever wanted or needed to just from one side of the conversation. And soon after the call ends, a notification pops up on Shouyou’s phone. He opens up the file sent to him and Suna leans over too. It’s a video of a training session. Osamu tilts his head. Looks like a three on three match. Akaashi and Bokuto on one side with Shouyou and Karasuno’s blond middle with a pair he thinks are Nekoma’s middles on the other. It’s a great angle, clearly set up by one of the players to go over later. 

“That’s a hell of a wall,” Suna says as Shouyou on the screen jumps to hit a terrible set from Bokuto. The trio of blockers are looming above the poor kid. And then Shouyou hits up. The landing is hideous but the hit is good. “So you _can_ aim, chibi-chan.”

“Hey!” Shouyou snaps as the next hit comes up. 

Someone had bothered to give Shouyou a compilation of his hits. And thankfully it’s from an angle where it’s easy to see how Akaashi sets for him. 

“Oi, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu calls, taking Shouyou’s phone. Atsumu turns and Shouyou squawks as Osamu tosses the phone to his brother. One good thing about being an elite volleyball team is that everyone - in theory - can catch. There's no harm done. “Yer gonna have to let Fukurodani win as thanks to Akaashi.”

He tears the paper out of the notebook as Atsumu plays the video. A few others of the team gather around him and even Yukino is looking over his shoulder curiously. Osamu folds it into a paper airplane to send Atsumu’s way. Atsumu catches it between two fingers, barely taking his eyes off the screen. Osamu can see his mind racing, the cogs turning, taking in how Akaashi sets for Shouyou - a normally amazing setter, not a genius with natural skills Atsumu couldn’t reach like Kageyama - and planning how he can adjust it to his own style. 

“When was this?” Atsumu says, eyes still glued to the screen.

“Mostly over the summer between the Inter-High and Spring Qualifiers,” Shouyou replies.

Atsumu opens up the notes with one hand and glances it over before returning his gaze to the phone screen. His eyes are blazing with new determination and his lips stretch into a grin. Not even Yukino can distract him from his research. Atsumu’s love life might rival his love of volleyball sometimes, but that never lasted long. His focus is now entirely on Shouyou and the tangible promise of a set he can connect.

“I can work with this,” Atsumu says, voice a low purr. 

It’s no fucking wonder jokes about Atsumu being volleyballsexual are rife in the club room every year and no amount of dating the - arguably - most popular and attractive girl in school will stiffle them. Does he really have to sound like that over fucking volleyball? 

“I need a block,” Shouyou says. Osamu turns to him. “Kuroo-san pointed out that I evolve best and quickest when there's a block I can’t get around. I hate being blocked. I hate that wall I can’t get around or over. It’s scary. It’s frustrating. So I move quicker and evolve faster. It’s messy, but once like I said the other day, we always had our biggest breakthroughs in game. I need a nasty block to fight.”

“We can do that, right, Sunarin?” Osamu says.

“Sounds like a fun time,” Suna replies. “Ginjima?”

“I’m in,” Ginjima laughs. “Yer not gettin’ through us, Shouyou-kun.”

Shouyou turns to the manager who’d given him her notebook. “Thank you, umm-”

“Rei,” the manager says, face flushed and eyes darting around. 

“Thank you, Rei-kun,” Shouyou says, handing over the book and pencil. 

“It’s nothing,” Rei says. Their hands brush as she takes the pad and Osamu rolls his eyes as she goes redder. Shouyou has his first managerial fangirl. “I’m just glad to help, Hinata-san.”

By the time lunch is over, they have a new plan for the second half of practice. Shouyou hasn’t got his phone back yet and Atsumu is still rewatching the clips of him and Akaashi, the notes Shouyou wrote next to the screen, no doubt comparing the two. 

Yukino is silently fuming at being ignored so stubbornly. So, naturally, she directs her ire towards Osamu and Suna. 

“Should ya really be leaving yer cute new member with Rin-kun and Osamu-kun, At-chan?” 

Atsumu doesn't look up. “Huh?” 

“Yer not worried they’ll corrupt him?” Yukino says. She smiles like the picture of a perfect, sweet woman. The sort of woman you’d bring home to strict traditional parents and have approval straight away. The perfect bitch in sheep's clothing. “I don’t blame ya for not knowing, Shou-chan. You haven’t had time to learn yet. At-chan is too lenient on Osamu-kun because they’re twins.”

“What are you talking about, Yukino-san?” Shouyou says, blinking up at her. 

Yukino smiles back. “Don’t let Osamu-kun and Rin-kun talk ya into anything ya don’t want to do, ok, Shou-chan? Let me find ya a cute girlfriend.” 

“O-ok,” he says with a confused frown and adorable blush. “If you say so.”

“Good.” 

She drags Atsumu’s attention from the setting research at the entrance to the gym. Her hands cup his cheeks and she forces him to look at her so she can have a kiss. Atsumu looks desperate to get back to plotting his sets. It's pretty hilarious actually. And then she sweeps away with a sour look back at Osamu and Suna. Atsumu is already heading in to talk to the coach with the others following. 

Suna and Osamu are the last to change their shoes. Mostly because Osamu is pissed. Honestly, he wants to punch something right now and Atsumu's gonna notice the second he heads in. And Suna might not show it, but Osamu doubts he’s any better. 

“We could just tell Atsumu,” Suna says. 

“As if he’d understand,” Osamu says.

“He’s a dick but he’s not _that_ bad,” he replies. “He’d probably be more pissed that we didn’t tell him.”

“If we’re lucky ‘Tsumu’ll get mad she’s saying that shit to Shouyou-kun. The selfish bastard has actually found something he cares about. Besides, she’ll be bored again by Golden Week.”

There’s something like a growl - an _actual_ fucking _growl_ \- behind them and they turn. 

_Shit_. 

Shouyou is standing behind them, staring up at them with that strangely blank face and wide, searching eyes. 

Osamu swallows thickly. “Shouyou-kun-”

“I think… even if I didn’t dislike her because I trust your judgment,” Shouyou says softly, “I don’t like her on my own after what she said about you two.”

“It’s alright, Shouyou-kun,” Osamu says. “We don’t need you to get into trouble getting defensive over us. We’re big boys, we can take care of ourselves.”

“Even if we’re not quite friends yet, we’re a team,” he says. “That means we all look out for each other, right? I mean, even when Tsukki was being a bastard, he was always right there with Tanaka-san standing their ground when other teams were talking about us. No matter how much we all fought, we were a team and no one gets to talk trash about your team but your team.”

“Oi,” Atsumu calls from inside the gym. “Are we playing or what?”

The three of them head in and Atsumu is with Coach Kurosu, showing him the notes and video. Mikage is with him, although firmly planted on the other side of their coach. Just in case Atsumu decided to get territorial over his research material too. Osamu is sure Atsumu would be able to figure all this out in time, just as he’s sure with a handful of months Atsumu could figure out how to do that falling toss for Shouyou, but they need the team working at 100% as quickly as possible. The Inter-High always comes up at an alarming rate, far too early in the year. They can’t waste time when there are more consistent hitters ready.

“Is it helpful, Atsumu-san?” Shouyou calls, bouncing over. “Akaashi-san said it would help to have a reference that isn’t Kageyama.”

“Akaashi-kun figured you out after just a few training sessions?” Kurosu says.

“I mean, we spent all day every day having practice sets, so we all got pretty used to each other,” he says with a sheepish grin. “I think we lost like seventy sets and only won three that summer. Everyone was so much better than us we learnt a lot. And, he said once that tossing to me was a lot like having a second, smaller, faster Bokuto-san.”

“I can see that, yeah,” Atsumu muses.

Kurosu glances at him. “Think this is the push you need?”

“Only way to find out is to do it and see,” he replies.

“If a normal setter can do it, the best high school setter should have no problem, right?” Mikage says with a sharp smile. “I could do it with these notes. Akaashi-san pays a lot of attention.”

“Watch yer face on the court, kid,” Atsumu hisses.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you, senpai?”

Atsumu seethes and Osamu smiles absently at the memory of Mikage dumping the ball into his brother’s face. Too bad no one managed to record it.

“Let’s get all our big blockers on one side of the net then,” Kurosu says, shooing them towards the court. “Houjou-kun, with the blockers. Kenjou-kun, with Atsumu and Hinata-kun to cover the blocks.”

They get into position on the court, no one really where they should be or playing proper positions but that’s fine. The only aim is to block and block and block. Just to shut Shouyou down, put pressure on him and Atsumu until something clicks or breaks. Riseki heads back to serve. 

“Ah, Yuki-chan’s right about ‘Samu and Suna corrupting you, by the way, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu says. Shouyou lifts his head and Osamu glares. Atsumu laughs. “I hear one word of sarcasm from ya and I’m separating the three of ya permanently.”

Shouyou blinks at him before breaking out in a dazzling grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Miya-san.”

Osamu exchanges a glance with Suna. If only that was the problem.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karasuno has to figure out how to move on without Hinata and the third years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly (ok quite a bit) shorter and a bit different chapter to check in with the Karasuno gang. I spent way too long trying to figure out how Karasuno could maintain anywhere near their level in the series without Hinata and the third years without going "the new first year just straight up fill the holes 1 for 1". And yeah, gonna give that trio shown briefly in the time skip personalities and backstory.

“I can’t believe Akaashi-san had to come to the rescue,” Yamaguchi laughs, opening the door to the clubroom.

“Akaashi doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to,” Tsukishima replies. He dumps his bag on a shelf and takes off his jacket. “He puts up with Bokuto and Kuroo, after all. I’m sure Hinata is nothing to worry about for him.”

“I feel bad for Hinata’s setter too,” he says. Kageyama lifts his head from where he’s changing and Yamaguchi smiles. “Apparently Hinata and his new setter are struggling to get in sync. He was complaining to Bokuto-san about it over the weekend and Akaashi-san stepped in to help.”

Kageyama wrinkles his nose. “He could have asked me for help.”

“Wouldn’t that be like admitting he’s lost in Hinata’s mind though?” he replies. Kageyama frowns but nods, muttering something about Hinata being an idiot. Tsukishima doesn’t point out that Kageyama isn’t one to talk there. “I’m sure they’ll get there though. It took you guys like a week before you even tossed to him, right?” 

“I guess so,” Kageyama says. 

“And then it took you most of the game with me and Tsukki to connect with him, and even then it wasn’t consistent for a while,” he continues. Kageyama nods along. “And it took you guys months to get the falling toss where he has his eyes open consistently working. Even after the Spring Tournament prelims it was only at seven in ten shots hitting. Imagine how hard it must be for a normal setter.”

“Hinata does suck,” he says. Tsukishima doesn’t disagree but he’s amazed Kageyama got that out of what Yamaguchi said. “Any setter would struggle to handle him.” He frowns and pulls on his jacket. “Hinata will figure it out though. He sucks, but he keeps going until he’s got it.”

“His stubbornness is a talent all of its own,” Tsukishima agrees, pulling on his Fukurodani jacket. He’s put in a request to get a new Karasuno one when they order the new first years’ jackets since he really can’t go around wearing it at tournaments. However he doubts anyone cares beyond a bit of gossip. “So Akaashi stepped in and gave Hinata some advice for his setter rather than let Bokuto and Kuroo cause trouble.”

“He still could have asked me,” Kageyama mutters.

Yamaguchi laughs. “But you don’t always explain things well. You move on instinct. And the problem is probably that they’ve seen you with Hinata. You’re a genius. Normal people can’t do what you do.”

Kageyama has the nerve to pout. The three of them leave the clubroom together just as Tanaka comes running up the stairs and around the corner, singing some song about being late. Because with Hinata gone, apparently someone needs to fill the silence with stupid songs.

The new first years will be starting today. Ennoshita says they have three new applicants. Tsukishima had zoned out on most of the details. Someone mentioned a libero and Nishinoya got excited at the idea of having a junior libero to teach but that’s about as much attention as he paid. 

“Akaashi’ll regret it though,” Tsukishima says as they head into the gym. Kageyama and Yamaguchi look up at him curiously. “Fukurodani are playing a practice match against Hinata’s new team during Golden Week.”

“And he doesn’t realize yet?” Yamaguchi says. Tsukishima shakes his head. “I’m sure Akaashi-san is confident anyway.”

“You want to play against the best opponents to get stronger,” Kageyama says. Ennoshita and the third years are waiting with Yachi. “Ushijima-san was right, our own strength doesn’t change depending on our opponent’s strength.”

“Doesn’t it though?” Yachi says. “There are some teams you play that push you harder than others, right? I think we get stronger when our opponents are stronger.”

“Let’s not get into semantics,” Ennoshita says.

“Why do you know where Shouyou is going anyway, Tsukishima?” Nishinoya demands.

“Because I worked it out,” Tsukishima replies. “The clues are all there, it’s not my fault none of you can work it out.”

“Hang on, I’ll ask the Fukurodani guys in the training camp chat,” Tanaka says. “They’ll tell us what teams they’re going to play Golden Week.”

Tsukishima takes his phone from his pocket and opens up the 3rd Gym chat. Yamaguchi leans over with a small smile and Tsukishima ignores him. He hasn’t told Yamaguchi where Hinata’s gone, but he doesn’t care if he finds out. Yamaguchi is pretty good with secrets.

> **3rd Gym (weneedabetternameguys)**
> 
> **Tsukki (15.34)**   
> _@kaashi_ tell your team to shut up i’ll explain after practice
> 
> **OwlAce (15.34)**   
>  whats going on???
> 
> **Kaashi (15.34)  
> ** oh
> 
> **OwlAce (15.35)  
> ** ?????
> 
> **AlleyCat (15.35)  
> ** training camp chat Bo

“They literally all stopped typing at once,” Tanaka says.

“Tsukki asked Akaashi-san to shut them up,” Yamaguchi laughs. 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima mutters.

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Ennoshita calls with a clap of his hands. “The first years will be here any moment. Hinata will tell us where he is when he’s ready. He probably just doesn’t want the pressure of you lot researching and judging his new team.”

“If his setter had to ask Akaashi-san for help, I’m already judging him,” Kageyama replies.

“Focus,” he says firmly. “We’ve promised to meet him at Nationals, and for that we need to focus on _getting_ to Nationals.”

“Excuse us.” 

They turn. The three first years are there in the doorway, changing their shoes. The shortest grins and steps forward, only to be tackled by Nishinoya. The other two step back and then around them.

“Yaotome!”

“Noya-senpai!”

“They know each other then,” Tsukishima says. 

“Get in here, Yaotome,” Nishinoya says, pulling the blond down to his level and lifting his phone. “Gotta make sure Morisuke knows I’ve got my own protégé now.”

“Noya-senpai,” Yaotome laughs.

“You know him, Noya-san?” Tanaka calls.

Yachi flicks through the applications. “Ah, that’s right. Chidoriyama’s libero. That’s the same middle school as Nishinoya-san, right?”

Tsukishima sighs and sits against the gym wall, ignoring the chaos in favour of the chaos on his phone. The training camp chat is blowing up again with the news Fukurodani will be playing Hinata’s new team during Golden Week, the enforced silence over it and the fact that they’d all forgotten Hinata and the old third years are all still in that chat.

> **Training Camp 2012**
> 
> **LionAce (15.42)**  
>  _@kaashi_ I thought we were friends you can’t keep a secret like this from us  
>  Shouyou’s my rival I need to know where he is to beat him
> 
> **OwlAce (15.42)  
> ** dont worry lev he hasnt told me either hes keeping it super secret
> 
> **AlleyCat (15.42)  
> ** tsukki told me
> 
> **OwlAce (15.43)  
> ** wow all of you??? im the only one???  
>  _@littlemiddle_   
>  my student betrays me too
> 
> **LittleMiddle (15.43)  
> ** huh forgot i was in this chat too i had it muted since the last day of school  
>  hi
> 
> **LionAce (15.44)  
> ** Shouyou??? where are you???
> 
> **GamerCat (15.44)  
> ** tell us quick before Tora notices
> 
> **DemonLibero (15.44)  
> ** _@tigerace_  
>  cute new student btw _@noya_
> 
> **AlleyCat (15.44)  
> ** traitor Yakkun we’re never gonna find out now
> 
> **OwlAce (15.45)  
> ** YOU ALREADY KNOW
> 
> **LittleMiddle (15.45)  
> ** don’t worry kenma we’re trying to work out when we can play you guys too  
>  condolences teams without shouyou  
>  but I’m taking my wing spiker to actually play volleyball now  
>  try not to be too jealous
> 
> **Kaashi (15.46)  
> ** It really is you then.
> 
> **LittleMiddle (15.46)  
> ** thanks for the advice btw akaashi   
>  saved me a lot of time figuring shouyou out by myself
> 
> **Kaashi (15.46)  
> ** I’m regretting it.
> 
> **Noya (15.47)  
> ** thought you were playing libero now shouyou
> 
> **DemonLibero (15.47)  
> ** good choice _@littlemiddle_ knew you had the makings of a libero
> 
> **LionAce (15.47)  
> ** isn’t that just bc he’s short yaku
> 
> **DemonLibero (15.47)  
> ** your lucky im about to start my own practice lev  
>  or id be on my way to kick your ass rn
> 
> **Inu (15.47)  
> ** its ok Tora got him and Kenma
> 
> **LittleMiddle (15.47)  
> ** he’s my wing spiker fuck off  
>  also rip kitty cats

“Now that’s settled?” Ennoshita calls. They turn to him. “We’ve got ten minutes before Coach Ukai turns up, haven’t we? Let’s get warming up.”

Eventually they get an introduction to the two other new kids, who look a little more daunted by the team than Yaotome, who at least has the experience of Nishinoya before. Tokita at least smiles nervously, but Shoji seems a lot more nervous. Or just standoffish. They’re a pair of wing spikers. Not surprising. Most volleyball players in middle school just want to hit the ball, after all. 

Coach Ukai arrives at four as always and they’re doing sprints and dives - not Tsukishima’s favorite drill - and generally testing the conditioning of the new kids. Naturally for Nishinoya’s libero student, he can dive like it’s no problem. The other two not so much. Although, they’re still better than Hinata was at this time last year. At least all those penalties did something for Hinata’s game.

“Gather round!” Ennoshita calls. 

The team heads over to Coach Ukai, the three first years hanging back a little until they’re dragged forward by Nishinoya and Tanaka. They step forward one by one, introducing themselves and declaring their goals. Win Nationals. All three of them have drive. The idiot trio are grinning - which is still pretty terrifying on Kageyama - and cheering at the idea and the others are smiling. Well, Tsukishima can at least admit that he wouldn’t mind winning either.

At the very least, he wants to beat Hinata. He wouldn’t mind a shot at Akaashi either.

“Alright, everyone,” Coach Ukai calls. “Welcome new first years. It’s good to have you on board. We’re all aiming for Nationals here, so be ambitious as you like. It’s not going to be easy. We’re missing our ace, our decoy, our solid defensive keystone and a reserve setter to change the pace. On top of that, we’re a man down in terms of sheer numbers.”

Well, when he puts it like that, they’re pretty screwed, aren’t they?

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you the Inter-High is coming up in June. That’s barely two months and we have to figure out an entirely new plan. But, we’re going to figure it out. We’ve got no other choice if you want to meet Hinata at Nationals.” They all nod. “So, plans made last year are going forward. We’ll have a training camp Golden Week and Nekoma is coming up to spend the week training with us. They’re always tough opponents who push us hard, so make the most of training with them. Coach Nekomata mentioned Kuroo might be coming up with them as well.”

“Doesn’t he have his own life?” Yamaguchi laughs sheepishly.

“He’s not joined his university’s team,” Tsukishima says, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, “so there’s no training for him that week. He just plays casually now. And he was talking about going into coaching himself too.” 

“Who’s Kuroo?” Yaotome whispers to Nishinoya.

“Nekoma’s captain last year,” Nishinoya replies. “Awesome middle blocker. Taught Tsukki to block how he does.”

“Don’t give him too much credit,” Tsukishima mutters. 

“I can see him as a coach,” Yamaguchi says.

Tsukishima nods. “He always plays it off like it’s a joke, but he really does like to help people improve. He’d be a good coach. And no one is ever to repeat that to him or he’ll never shut up.”

“Alright,” Coach Ukai says. “That’s not the only thing we’ve got to think about. Fukurodani Academy has invited us back to their training camps in Tokyo this summer. Let’s try to make those as productive as last year.”

“ _Tokyo_?” Tokita says, perking up. 

“Yeah, some of the biggest powerhouse schools in the Kanto region are part of a training group,” Tanaka says. “They’re all ridiculously strong. Fukurodani got second overall at Nationals. We go around all their schools for weekends and spend a week at Shinzen High. There’s some really cool, unique school to learn from.”

“But, that’s a long way off,” Coach Ukai says. “We’ll give you details about that closer to the time. Let’s focus on Golden Week and Nekoma and preparing for the Inter-High.”

The doors to the gym slam open and Takeda stumbles in, startling the first years. Tsukishima sighs. Sometimes he forgets Karasuno is his own special kind of chaotic. He’s become pretty desensitised, apparently. A year of this plus Bokuto and Kuroo, it’s not that surprising. 

“Big news!” Takeda calls, staggering up. Tsukishima sighs. When he said that this time last year, he was telling them they had a match against Seijoh. “Really big news.”

“A match?” Ukai says. “Already?”

“A potential match,” he replies, unfolding his paper. He brushes himself off and smiles at them. “Inarizaki.”

_Oh_.

They might get a chance to go against Hinata sooner than they imagined.

Everyone has perked up. They’re all excited to play their latest rivals. Inarizaki had been an incredible match. They played in a very similar style and had very similar feels about them. Kuroo messaged Tsukishima after the game saying it was like watching Karasuno play their future selves - a bit more polished, a bit more secure and a bit more experienced. Playing against a similar team like Inarizaki can be as challenging as playing against their opposites like Nekoma or Date Tech.

“They want a practice match?” Ennoshita says.

“They’ve offered,” Takeda says. “They’ve heard from Nekoma that they’re up here for Golden Week and have offered to play us both on the same day.”

“That’s going to be exhausting for them,” Yamaguchi says.

“They’re an elite team though,” Kageyama says. “They’re probably conditioned to play two tough matches a day, like at Nationals, in a way we’re not yet.” 

“We’re going to work on that,” Ukai says.

“They must be desperate to play us again if they're willing to come all this way,” Nishinoya says with a grin. “Not that we mind, right? Now the Miyas have pulled off Kageyama and Shouyou’s quick, other schools are going to start trying it too, right? Especially whatever school Shouyou’s gone to. They’ll be doing their best to get their setter to match him, right?”

“Even if he has to ask for advice from Akaashi-san,” Narita says.

“He’s right though,” Ukai says, shaking his head. “The minus tempo was never going to stay unique forever. The Miya twins proved Kageyama and Hinata aren’t the only ones capable. Even if they’re still elite players, they’re opening the gates. I would expect to see at least one or two other teams trying it at Nationals and probably a lot more attempting it in practice. It’ll be good to practice against it. So, Inarizaki wants to play us and Nekoma and then go home? That’s still a long way to come just for a game. We could at least meet them halfway.”

“Actually, they’re in Miyagi all week,” Takeda says.

“All week?” Ennoshita says. 

“They’re not joining us for camp, are they?” Tanaka growls.

“Don’t be like that, Ryuu,” Nishinoya laughs, patting his back. “Imagine how much we’d learn having them train with us!”

“They’re not training with us,” Takeda says with a soft smile. “They’re playing matches all week.”

“How so?” Ukai says.

“They’ve put out an open invitation,” he replies. “They’re in Sendai all week and any school in Miyagi that wants a match can have one. It seems they’re looking to play against the Tokyo schools at some stage too and since Nekoma is here they decided to kill two birds with one stone.”

“That’s a tough schedule,” Kageyama says.

Tsukishima nods. No one’s going to be treating them like practice matches. There won’t be any teams facing Inarizaki with anything but their best. Of course, no team goes into a match to lose, but their practice sets at training camp are done with the understanding that they’re trying things out and learning together. Inarizaki might use it as a chance to test things out, but the school facing them will likely be going in as if it’s an official match - solid plays and a team they're confident with. The morale boost of beating an elite team like them is too tempting to risk experimentation. 

It’s going to be a long, hard, exhausting week for Inarizaki and Hinata. Tsukishima’s sure places like Shiratorizawa, Seijoh and Date Tech will already be desperate to have a shot at them.

“That’s how you train for Third Day Hell, I guess,” Kinoshita says.

There’s a moment of silence and Tsukishima scowls. He really doesn’t need to be reminded how pathetic they were towards the end of their final match. After an exhausting match with Nekoma, they really weren’t ready for a second gruelling match that day. Nationals were an entirely different level. And for a school that hadn’t been to Nationals in five years, they simply didn’t have the conditioning or training to prepare them for it. 

Realistically, they clung on to face Nekoma, desperately pushing themselves beyond their limits to the end, through sheer determination and force of will.

“I guess that’s the sort of schedule you need to be champions,” Yamaguchi says. “Fukurodani are probably already getting into their conditioning schedule too.”

“Then we need to start training harder too,” Nishinoya declares, pumping his fist. His little student nods along eagerly. “We need to be ready to go the distance this year.”

“None of that,” Ukai sighs. “We need to train smarter, not harder. Nothing’s going to come from overworking ourselves before we’re ready. If anything, that’s a recipe for injury.”

“I think it’s obvious that we’ll accept,” Ennoshita says. “We need to figure out how to fight on their level with our new set up.”

“Why are they in Sendai anyway?” Tanaka says. “For Shiratorizawa? Or us?”

“Because we’re the team that came from nowhere and beat them, probably,” Tsukishima says. “They want to know what schools there are here that created us. For the past few years, it’s basically just been Shiratorizawa. Miyagi has completely unknown schools evolving beneath their overwhelming dominance. They want to know what else is here in Shiratorizawa’s shadow. And, if they want to test out the twins’ minus tempo attacks, there’s no better place. Schools around here are more experienced with that freak quick than anywhere else.”

“It doesn’t really matter why they’re here though, does it?” Yachi says with a smile. “We need to focus on us, that’s all we can do.”

Ah, but Yachi knows where Hinata is too, doesn’t she? She’s probably concerned about what Hinata’s going to do about facing them and Nekoma. He’s sure Akaashi will accept keeping Hinata’s secret for now, but they can’t keep it forever if they’re going to be playing them. It’d definitely give Inarizaki a psychological edge to have Hinata step out to face them, but how would Hinata fare?

Actually, now Tsukishima thinks about it, if they’re playing Fukurodani too, doesn’t that mean they’re stopping in Tokyo on the way or on the way back? 

“Alright,” Coach Ukai says. “If you could talk with Coach Nekomata and the Inarizaki High coaches to arrange that for us?” Takeda nods. “Meanwhile, I think we’ve got a three on three match to play. We need to work out what we’re going to do with you new kids.”

They split up into roughly balanced groups of three. Yaotome and Shoji with Kageyama on one side and Tokita with Nishinoya and Ennoshita. Although to balance things out a little more Nishinoya is encouraged to focus on setting rather than receiving. His setting has been improving a lot since Nationals. It’s still going to be tricky though.

Narita or Yamaguchi can fill in for Hinata as middles, but they’re unlikely to be able to sync up with Kageyama in quite the same way. Tanaka doesn’t have the power to be the same sort of ace as Azumane, he’ll have to lean into playing more like Bokuto. Ennoshita isn’t Sawamura but they don’t have many other options for their opposite player. The new spikers aren’t bad, but they’re unlikely to carry them to Nationals.

After the match is called off - they’re not getting anywhere, they’re deuced into the thirties every set - Ukai calls them all back around. He’s probably come to similar conclusions. 

“Alright, this formation is going to be a little rough around the edges for a while but let’s see what we can do,” Ukai says. “Tsukishima and Nishinoya, I need you both working hard on setting. If anything happens to Kageyama or we need a change, we’ll need a spare setter.” They both nod. “Nishinoya, I want you to work hard with Yaotome. And I want you both to be able to spike.”

Nishinoya frowns. “Why?”

“Hinata is playing libero,” he says simply. “Didn’t you promise you’d learn to fly? You looked like you had fun last time. But it’s not just a sentimental decision. Do you remember Inarizaki’s captain?”

Kageyama’s eyes widen. “A defensive specialist?”

“What’s that?” Tokita says.

“Like a pinch server but for defense,” Tsukishima says. “Used effectively, it can almost be a second libero.”

“Inarizaki’s #1 definitely gave us hell,” Tanaka growls.

“He passed my jump float like it was nothing,” Yamaguchi sighs. 

“You want one of us to be able to do what he did?” Nishinoya says.

Ukai nods and glances at Yaotome, who stiffens slightly. “You’re competing with Nishinoya for the same position. I don’t have to tell you your senpai is a monster of a player. In all honesty, if you want to get any decent court time in your first year, this is your best option.”

“I’ll do it,” Yaotome says with a nod.

“I don’t expect either of you to be able to jump or spike like Hinata,” he says. “Just be good enough to get the ball over the net if there’s an opening and we need you.” They nod. “Alright, as always, we need to work hard on our passing and receiving. Ennoshita, you especially. You’re going to be replacing Sawamura as our solid foundation.”

They all nod. It’s a solid enough plan. They can’t work just _replace_ Hinata, their offense has definitely taken a hit, but if they can fill that gap with defense, they can be a more rounded team. Although, whether that will get them back to Nationals or not is another matter. They’re going to have to be less and less about power and more and more about clever tricks.

“Alright, let’s get to work. Hitters along the back line. Ennoshita, Nishinoya and Yaotome receiving. Kageyama set. I want the hitters coming in in twos and threes, Kageyama will choose where it goes.” 

The team gets up from the floor and head to their positions while Yachi takes out her notebook.

“Tsukishima,” Ukai calls. He glances back. “Just because it’s early in the year doesn’t mean slacking. Kageyama’s going to set you up at the height we all know you can get. No falling back on bad habits, you lot. Don’t let him slouch, Kageyama.”

“Right.”

It’s not like Tsukishima minds jumping his best when he has to, but it’s exhausting. That’s probably the problem. He needs more stamina. He needs to be able to do this as often as Hinata - as often as needed - but it’s still exhausting. It’s a double edged sword; he doesn’t want to exhaust himself, he hates being sweating and out of breath, but the only way to not be out of breath and sweaty when it matters is to be so in practice. It’s just a matter of what he dislikes more, exerting himself now or the humiliation of losing like that later.

Yaotome is a surprisingly good libero. Or maybe not so surprising. He’s Nishinoya’s junior after all. Even when Tsukishima was in middle school Chidoriyama had something of a reputation as a breeding ground for brilliant liberos and defensive players. The sort of players who’d make Nekomata proud. The more Tsukishima sees him play, the more he thinks this might not be such a diaster.

After practice, Ennoshita calls up that he’ll buy snacks for them. He’s definitely stepping into Sawamura’s shoes. They take the first years down to Ukai’s family store and Tokita and Yaotome seem almost endearingly happy to be part of the group when they start handing out meat buns. Even Shoji smiles gratefully. At least one of them seems tolerable then. Tsukishima doesn’t need another one to add to the volleyball idiots, although he thinks Yaotome is going to be one of them anyway. 

“So, who are Nekoma?” Shoji says as they walk.

“They’re our destined rivals,” Ennoshita says. “They’re a team from Tokyo and our schools have been rivals for decades, all the way back to their coach and Coach Ukai’s grandfather.”

“They’re a bunch of really awesome defenders,” Nishinoya says. “Like they said, their captain last year taught Tsukki to block and their libero, Morisuke, is a real demon.”

“They’re awful to play,” Tsukishima mutters. “You spike and spike and the ball just won’t fall. It’s exhausting.”

“But you loved being across the net from Kuroo-san,” Yamaguchi laughs.

“Did you miss Sawamura-san offering to punch him for me?” he says. 

Yamaguchi grins and Tsukishima clicks his tongue. No one says anything more on it, but they’re all smiling. He’s not going to say it out loud anytime soon, but he is grateful for the team never backing down from his attitude. He’s never been sure how Yamaguchi tolerated it for so long, but the entire team pushed through it. It was exhausting to have everyone except Yamaguchi hate him even if he doesn't see the need to be anything but himself. 

It’s not like he’s just going to change how he is, and it’s not going to happen overnight or any time soon, but he’s never had a team so willing to accept him as he is.

“Don’t let Tsukishima scare you kids,” Tanaka laughs. “He’s a bastard with an awful attitude, but he’s our bastard and he hates to lose.”

“We’re always grateful he’s on our side,” Ennoshita chuckles. 

“You just get used to his own brand of affection,” Nishinoya laughs. “There was a time when we didn’t even know if he liked volleyball.”

“But he really hates to lose,” Kinoshita says.

“I think we’re at Karasuno just because Tsukki hates to lose,” Yamaguchi says. “Because he didn’t want to lose to Akiteru.” 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima mutters.

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

“I wonder who else is playing Inarizaki,” Kageyama mutters.

“There’s one way to find out,” Tsukishima says and takes out his phone. “Most of the top schools had a first year in the training camp last year.”

He opens up the first year training camp chat. He doesn’t talk to them much. They’re not the most talkative group anyway. Koganegawa is the only one who talks about anything other than the odd bit of volleyball news. The last big news, of course, being Hinata leaving. 

> **Most Awesome 2nd Years**
> 
> **Tsukki (20.13)  
> ** anyone else playing inarizaki high golden week?
> 
> **IronSetter (20.13)  
> ** you guys too????
> 
> **LittleMiddle (20.14)  
> ** wait what
> 
> **IronSetter (20.14)  
> ** we’re going to play inahigh
> 
> **NextAce (20.14)  
> ** We’re playing them too.
> 
> **Tsukki (20.15)  
> ** don’t get jealous  
>  you’re playing fukurodani anyway
> 
> **LittleMiddle (20.15)  
> ** and itachiyama
> 
> **NextAce (20.15)  
> ** That’s so unfair!
> 
> **Kunimi (20.15)  
> ** we’ve got inahigh too
> 
> **LittleMiddle (20.15)  
> ** i’ve got to go yell at my captain about some practice matches now
> 
> **Kunimi (20.16)  
> ** are you still in practice?
> 
> **LittleMiddle (20.16)  
> ** no we’re doing are homework and having dinner at the dorms

“Seijoh, Date Tech and Shiratorizawa are all confirmed with them,” Tsukishima says. “And Hinata’s team is playing Itachiyama too.”

“It’s not surprising that all the top schools are already planning some difficult practice matches,” Kageyama says. “To get better you have to play the best teams. Like at training camp. The Fukurodani group helped and we were the worst team there. That’s how we improve.”

They all nod. They’re all aware of it, of course, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. Hinata and Inarizaki really are going to be facing school after school during Golden Week to start building up their new team. That's how you become one of the most promising teams in the country. Tsukishima wonders half heartedly if Hinata can manage it. Is he really going to be ok? 

Really, they stayed later than they planned at practice. Experimenting with the new kids had run long. Not that it’s anything new. Kageyama and Hinata used to run over and stay late all the time. But when it's all of them it does mean Tsukishima is more exhausted than usual. He barely acknowledges his mother’s voice as he gets off his shoes. Dinner smells incredible and he’s starving. And he’s more than grateful when she offers to let him eat in his room so he can do his homework at the same time. The more multitasking he can do, the earlier and longer he can sleep.

Naturally, it’s while he’s trying to focus on homework and dinner that Tsukishima gets the call from the third gym group. Of course. And Kuroo is right, they really do need a better name for the group.

“Hey hey hey, Tsukki! You actually answered.” 

“I always answer,” Tsukishima says. 

“Even when he threatens not to,” Kuroo laughs.

“No one will blame you for just hanging up, Tsukki,” Akaashi says.

“I’m not staying long,” Tsukishima says between mouthfuls. “I’m half alseep already. Practice ran late.”

“Are you eating?” Kuroo says. He hums in confirmation, scribbling down on his homework. “What number meal is this?”

Tsukishima hums thoughtfully. “Fourth, plus snacks.”

“You’re _finally_ eating!” Bokuto laughs. “I always felt like I was gonna break your arms when you blocked my spikes.”

“I know. You told me regularly.” He sighs and tilts his head back. “Losing the way we did was humiliating. I won’t let my stamina be the reason my team loses ever again.”

“I’m so proud.” 

“Oi, Tsukki,” Kuroo says softly. Tsukishima rolls his eyes. He can feel the pity speech coming on. “You know it’s not-”

“Don’t,” Tsukshima says.

“It’s just a club though,” Akaashi says. He says it without any judgement or sarcasm, just in that very plain, soft Akaashi way that settles everything. “It’s because you work so hard that you suffer so much.”

“My opinion on that hasn’t changed,” he says. “It’s because we tried so hard, because I trained so hard with the three of you, that losing the way we did hurt so much.”

“See, he’s hooked,” Bokuto laughs. “It was that block against Ushiwaka that did it, right? C’mon Tsukki, we’re not letting you relapse. Think about the good times.”

“Who’s relapsing?” he snaps.

“I don’t think he’s relapsing, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi says softly. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive. You can acknowledge that being invested in something is the reason why you hurt when it doesn’t work out and be invested nonetheless. It’s just a club, there’s no reason for you to care so much, if you care it will hurt when you lose and only one team can win it all, the chances are so against you it’s not funny, but you’re willing to try anyway. I think that's real love.”

“Can you guys stop saying relapsing like I had a problem?”

“How is not enjoying volleyball _not_ a problem?” Kuroo says.

“You can’t talk, quitter,” Bokuto laughs.

“I’ve not quit,” he replies. “I’ve cut back.”

“Apparently he’s not got a life outside of Nekoma,” Tsukishima says. “He’s coming up to training camp with them Golden Week.”

“No fair,” Bokuto huffs. “I wanna visit Tsukki too.”

“And we’re playing Inarizaki too,” he sighs.

Akaashi huffs in a way that might be a laugh. “And suddenly me giving Miya Atsumu advice is your problem too.”

“That’s rough,” Kuroo drawls with an unmissable smug untone. “Those foxes were already bastards, now they’ve got chibi-chan.”

“Wait a second,” Bokuto snaps. “Hinata’s at _Inarizaki_?”

“I’m hanging up now,” Tsukishima says. “I’ll let you explain, Akaashi. You’re the Bokuto wrangler.”

They mutter a few goodbyes while Bokuto is still huffing that he was the last one to know about Hinata going to Inarizaki. 

A message comes through from them saying goodnight as he’s changing for bed. Tsukishima’s as grateful for them as the rest of his own team, even if he’s never going to say that either. They probably know just as much as Yamaguchi knows. 

And then a private message from Kuroo - a gentle reminder it’s not Tsukshima’s fault they lost at Nationals. He knows. He _knows_ that. There are all sorts of reasons they lost. It might have been over the moment they lost Hinata. They might have never been able to win. They might have just been completely outclassed. They might have been just too tired and could have won if they’d faced them on a seperate day. Or maybe it was Tsukishima’s exhaustion that was the point they lost their chance. They could have done so much. They could have practiced with other lineups to make sure they didn’t rely on him and Hinata. 

There are so many variations. But, none of it changes how humiliating it felt and that Tsukishima never wants to be in that position ever again. If a team is better, they’re better. There’s only so much you can do, you play your best and at the very least hope to go down in a blaze of glory. Hobbling off like he and Hinata did was just so embarrassingly pathetic. And he’s sure Hinata feels the same. He can’t take out every variable, he can’t guarantee he’ll never be injured, but he’s never going to let his own weakness be one of the potential reasons for their loss ever again.

Tsukishima sighs and pulls up the covers around him before picking up his phone. 

> **Tsukki (21.52)**  
>  we’re going to win this time too
> 
> **LittleMiddle (21.52)**  
>  i'm not going to lose


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata is starting to realize he can still fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing it's still Tuesday for a lot of you, but timezones yay. Atsumu and Kageyama both subscribe to the "I'm going to yell at you but in an inspirational way" method of team talks.
> 
> Speaking of Kageyama. Ok so Hinata's going to throw back to things Kageyama especially has told him during this chapter and I just want to remind everyone, just in case, I don't think Kageyama is a bad guy, I don't think he was trying to undermine Hinata (at least not when giving him serious advice, banter is another matter that has its own rules), and in many cases it was the right thing to say at the time and Hinata has got over things because of it. BUT Kageyama is also a teenage boy who isn't great at communicating even by teenage boy standards and Hinata is in a bad place emotionally right now and when you're in that sort of state, throw away comments and things you were over can come back hard. That's what it is, not me saying Kageyama's a terrible person for saying these things.

Atsumu and Osamu are amazing. Of course, Hinata already knew that. Seeing them at Nationals - how they copied his and Kageyama’s quick, how they worked fearlessly together and were well rounded players in their own right - it hammered home how far Hinata had to go. Osamu in particular is a fantastic all rounder. Atsumu has a few areas where he’s stronger or weaker, while Osamu is perfectly balanced. 

And Hinata is mesmerized. The twins are practicing the minus tempo attacks while Hinata practices receiving with Kenjou and Houjou. 

They’ll be giving out jerseys today and starting to talk about starting lineups. Hinata doesn’t know if he’ll make the team without the minus tempo. Especially since the twins can do it. And their consistency and accuracy is improving constantly. But, watching them makes Hinata’s palms itch. He wants to jump. He wants to spike. 

They don’t need him though. Inarizaki doesn’t need him. 

Atsumu doesn’t need him.

Osamu is a smarter hitter, stronger blocker, better _everything_. Taller, bigger, more powerful. He’s sure Kageyma would kill to have been partnered with Osamu rather than him. Someone who could control the minus tempo properly. Someone who knew their limits and would never do something as pathetic as collapse from fever halfway through a match.

The ball slams down at speed right between Hinata and Kenjou and goes flying off against the wall. Osamu lets out a breath and runs a hand through his hair to push it back off his face. Rei hurries over with her notebook under her arm, a towel on her shoulder and a water bottle in her hand.

“Here, Miya-san,” she says, holding out the bottle. 

“Thanks,” Osamu mutters. He takes a drink and holds out his hand for the towel. “Can we take a break, ‘Tsumu? Let me set for a while? It’s better if we can do it both ways.”

“I’m the setter,” Atsumu replies. “What’s with the notebook anyway, missy?”

“Huh?” Rei blinks up at him, ponytail bouncing as she jerks back. “Umm, isn’t that what managers are supposed to do?”

Atsumu and Osamu scowl at her and Hinata steps forward. “What do you guys’ managers usually do?”

“Look at our managers, Shouyou-kun,” Osamu says, waving at the gym. 

Hinata looks around. He has noticed that none of the managers here at Inarizaki are anything like Yachi and Shimizu. The players and coaches had to keep reminding them to do their jobs and they suck at setting up and collecting balls. Rei’s the only one he’s seen with a notebook like Shimizu and Yachi. 

“There’s a reason we never have a manager,” Kenjou sighs. “Gotta make the most of ‘em while they’re here, y’know? The coaches’ll start dismissing them soon enough. Appreciate the view while ya can, Shouyou.”

“Most of our managers aren’t here to do a job,” Atsumu says. “They wanna see hot guys working hard, out of breath and soaked in sweat that they can drool over. They’re fangirls not managers.”

“...oh…”

Hinata tilts his head and considers Osamu for a moment. That’s what the managers want to see? He’s definitely attractive. He’s face is flushed and he’s still breathing hard. Sweat sticks his hair to his forehead, slides down his throat and has his top clinging to him. Maybe he gets it. Guys say they want to see girls in the same sort of situation all the time, so maybe it makes sense it goes the other way too. Osamu straightens up and takes another drink from his water bottle before wiping his face with the towel. Yeah, he can see it. He glances at Rei, who goes bright red, clutching her notebook to her chest.

“I- I love volleyball,” she says, shaking her head, “but I was always too sickly to play, so I found a way I can be involved anyway. If the players are attractive that’s just a bonus.” 

Atsumu laughs and tilts his head, then laughs roughly. “Well, at least this one’s honest. So? What notes d'ya have for us?”

“Umm…” She opens up her book and Hinata and Kenjou lean over curiously. It’s exactly the sort of thing Yachi and Shimizu used to do with hits and misses and various notes. “The minus tempo is a lot more consistent on the left but yer missing a lot in the center. Especially when Atsumu-san is back setting.”

“Yer paying attention to all that?” Kenjou says, looking over her shoulder to the page. Rei squeaks but nods. “And what about this?”

“Ah, Hinata-san is picking up the most balls,” she says, tapping the pencil against the page, “but his passes aren’t very good. They are always high though.”

“Kageyama always said he didn’t care how messy a pass was as long as it was high,” Hinata says. “He could set from pretty much anywhere as long as he had time to get under the ball.”

“Kenjou-san passes them right when he gets them and is definitely struggling with the center attacks too. Houjou-san is getting some of the back attacks but struggling over all.”

“Those are some seriously detailed notes,” Atsumu says.

“Our managers used to do this sorta thing all the time,” Hinata says. “Have you really never had managers do this?”

“We’re a superior team in all other aspects,” Osamu says. “We don’t need managers fussing over us.” 

Hinata laughs and Atsumu turns to him. “Shouyou-kun, how’s yer back attack?”

“Solid,” Hinata replies. “I’ve only been doing it since the Spring Tournament. I learnt from Bokuto-san at training camp.”

“Are ya confident ya can hit it consistently?” Osamu says.

“It might not be as high or fast as yours, but it’s decent,” he says. Osamu frowns and Atsumu smacks the back of Hinata’s head. He yelps and rubs his head gingerly, pouting up at him. “What was that for?!”

“We didn’t ask for ya to compare it to ‘Samu’s,” Atsumu replies. “We asked if yer confident it can hit consistently.”

Hinata glares for a moment before puffing out his cheeks. “It’s pretty consistent. I don’t think I’ve mishit it in an official game, though we didn’t use it very often. Even if Seijoh blocked my back attack debut. And Kageyama kicked me in that match. Actually _kicked_ _me_.”

“Why?” Kenjou says, rather than offering any sympathy.

“Because I spiked into a single block right in front of me,” Hinata grumbles. Which, yeah, was stupid of him, but he was very stressed. “You know, I didn’t kick him when he got all freaked out of the Grand King.”

“I would have kicked you for that too,” Atsumu mutters.

“No one is kicking anyone during a match,” Osamu says.

“Unless it’s the twins kicking each other,” Kenjou laughs.

“You,” Atsumu says, jabbing a finger into Osamu’s chest, “go jump blocks.” He turns to Hinata. “You, back attacks.”

Hinata nods. Osamu hands his water bottle and towel back to Rei with a muttered thanks. She smiles and hurries back to the sidelines, opening up her notebook and flicking over to a new page. Hinata really can’t imagine what it’s like not to have a manager like this. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until now he’s not got someone taking notes and helping them out. 

“Ready?” Atsumu calls. 

“Ready!”

Back attacks feel surprisingly good. Compared to how he struggles with the speed and height of the quicks and normal hits recently, back attacks actually feel _right_. He knows Atsumu is slowly pulling him up with the sets but somehow it doesn’t feel awful. It doesn’t feel like he’s jumping off the edge of a cliff every time he takes off. Maybe it’s just the excitement, maybe he got worked up enough watching the twins that it overtakes the fear, but he slams the ball down again and again, getting around most of Osamu’s blocks, although he runs into Kenjou and Houjou’s solid defence a lot.

Or maybe it’s the way Atsumu and Osamu look at him when he succeeds. Like he’s finally done something right. Something amazing. They’re so wide eyes and puffed up with pride. When was the last time someone looked proud of him? 

And Osamu keeps looking at Atsumu with something smug and knowing. Something like ‘ _I told you so_ ’ without words. What they’re arguing about through their, apparently not a thing, psychic link, Hinata has no idea. But it just feels way too good to finally be hitting hard and fast without that whispering voice. He feels almost like himself again. He can take on the world again.

“Ah!” 

Hinata’s _way_ too early. He’s already in the air before the ball has touched Atsumu’s hands.

Atsumu’s eyes widen. 

His face lights up and a grin breaks out. 

Hinata hasn’t seen Atsumu look so happy since arriving.

The ball comes rocketing towards him. 

It’s low but Hinata’s hand finds it and slams it down right on the attack line. 

The landing is _awful_. 

Hinata stumbles and that whispering voice is back. 

_See, you fell again._

Only for Hinata to stop before he stumbles into the ground. There are strong arms around him. a broad chest against his back and breath ruffling the top of his hair. 

“Gotcha,” Atsumu laughs. “I gotcha, Shouyou-kun. We’ve gotta work on that landing, huh?”

“Atsumu-san…” 

Atsumu supports him until he gets his feet back under him and his balance centered again. Hinata takes a deep breath and gets to appreciate Atsumu’s radiant grin for just a moment before his balance is gone again and he’s tackled to the ground with a yelp. Kenjou grins down at him from all fours and Hinata stares back at him.

“That was so awesome, Shouyou!” he laughs. “Like back at Nationals!”

“Told ya,” Osamu says quietly. Hinata glances over to see the twins exchanging high fives. “Back attacks.”

“Yeah, yeah, yer the smarter twin, whatever,” Atsumu huffs. “I didn’t say ya were wrong.”

“The toss was low though,” Hinata says, pushing Kenjou off carefully. “I nearly missed it.”

“That’s ‘cause ya jumped higher,” he replies, grin turning sharper.

“You told Narumi-kun off for using that as an excuse,” he says. 

“I never.” He turns to Hinata fully. “Yer jumping better today though. It’s ‘cause yer feeling good, right? I think ya like back attacks. They’re cool, right?”

Hinata nods. Back attacks are _so_ cool. He’d wanted to learn the moment he saw Kuroo during their Golden Week game. And Asashi just made it look so much cooler. Aces could slam the ball down from anywhere, any time. The sort of thing Hinata aspired to do. The reliability Hinata longed to have. The trust he wanted to be given.

_You’ll never be an ace._

Atsumu leans closer. “And now I know ya can do it for me and not just Tobio-kun, I’m not letting ya lower yer standards. Get off him, Kenjou-kun. We’re goin’ again while he’s still feelin' it.”

Not just Kageyama.

He hit a minus tempo attack from someone other than Kageyama. 

Atsumu is right in front of him, smile half smugness, half threat, and he can get the ball to Hinata as fast as Kageyama. He _wants to_. And if he can hit the minus tempo attacks from someone other than Kageyama, what else can he do no one thought he could?

“Right!”

Hinata shakes off the mention of Kageyama and the quiet voice in the back of his head. 

He’s ok. He stumbled and fell and Atsumu caught him before he fell on his face. Sure, there’s no way that’s gonna happen in an actual game but… there’s a warmth to it. The idea that someone will catch him when he’s off balance and just laugh about it. Everyone says Atsumu has an awful personality but Hinata hasn’t seen it yet. Perhaps Atsumu’s just not serious enough to start yelling yet, perhaps once they’ve got their team confirmed he’ll know who to yell at, but right now he just feels like the best support Hinata’s ever had. 

Or perhaps he’s just too used to Tsukishima and Kageyama’s awful personalities and so can’t pick out what other people think is a bad attitude any more.

“That was incredible, Hinata-san,” Rei says, handing out water bottles as they take a break. “Yer jumping so much higher now.”

“Thanks, Rei-kun,” he says quietly. 

He frowns down at his palm as Rei puts a towel over his shoulders and moves onto the others in their group. They seem to be warming up to the idea of having a manager who actually does her job. They thank her quietly and Atsumu accepts notes on where they’re hitting and missing. Kenjou pulls Houjou over to take feedback as well.

“What’s with that look?” Osamu says, sitting on the bench next to him. 

Hinata glances up from his reddened palm. Osamu is that disheveled mess again, hair sticking up from where he ran his hand through it and breathing hard. The more Hinata thinks about it, the more he can probably understand the appeal. He glances over at Astumu, Houjou and Kenjou, who’re in the same state. Does he look like that too? Can he pull that look off like them? He’s never really considered it before.

“Shouyou-kun?” Osamu says. 

Hinata smiles at him. “Atsumu-san’s sets are really easy to hit. They don't just turn up in my palm and they don't stop and wait like Kageyama's, I have to do the work myself, but with his sets it feels easy.”

“Annoying isn’t it?” he says. “Once he has a grasp on ya, it’s like you’ve never had a setter before, isn’t it? Like everyone else was just an amateur messing around and finally ya finally get to experience what a real setter is like.” 

“That’s…” Hinata frowns and tilts his head. “I’m not sure I’d go that far. You’re a pretty good setter too, Osamu-san.”

“Good answer,” Osamu says. He smiles a little - Osamu never seems to smile as much as Atsumu, although Hinata is sure he did during their match - and leans closer to whisper in his ear. “Don’t tell the others, but yer my favourite to set to.”

Hinata laughs and shoves him back. “You can’t say that, Osamu-san.”

“Why not? ‘Tsumu says shit like that loudly all the time,” he says with a shrug. “At least I say it quietly.” 

“‘Samu, Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu snaps. “What’re the two of ya gossiping about over there?”

“How well Shouyou-kun is hitting now yer syncing up,” Osamu says with a shrug.

“Yeah, well, anyone who can’t hit my sets just plain sucks,” he replies, “and I knew from the start Shouyou-kun doesn’t suck.”

“You looked me right at me when you told Kageyama you hate playing people who suck,” Hinata says and Osamu snorts.

“That was _before_ I saw ya play.”

“Ya watched Karasuno’s game on the first day to spy on Kageyama,” Osamu says.

“I think I’d remember that, ‘Samu.”

“Ya called him a sucky kid who can jump with no other skill made to look good by a good setter when we watched their Shiratorizawa match,” Kenjou says. 

“Don’t recall.”

“Ya told the coach he sucked literally the first week he was here,” Osamu says.

“I added amazing onto that!” Atsumu snaps. “I said he was amazing but sucked technically. Don’t twist my words, ‘Samu!”

“Don’t worry about it too much, Atsumu-san,” Hinata laughs, waving his hands. “Kenma used to use me as a measure for sucking all the time. Especially when it came to Lev. ‘ _You suck at the basics, but his serves and receives are even worse than yours_ ’ and to be honest nothing got Lev more fired up than telling him he sucked more than me. And Yaku-san was never quiet about telling people how much they suck to their face. He didn’t see any reason not to. Yaku-san was kinda scary. Nekoma called him the demon senpai.”

“See,” Atsumu says, turning to Osamu. “It’s fine. I’m nice compared to the others he’s had to deal with.”

“He didn’t say that at all,” Kenjou laughs.

Osamu rolls his eyes and gives Hinata a pointed look that he thinks is the ‘ _see what we have to deal with_ ’ face. He’s definitely seen Daichi and most of Fukurodani make that face. But actually, it makes Hinata smile and giggle. He thinks Atsumu is pretty lucky to have Inarizaki. They might act like he’s a rude jerk and a tyrant, but he just reminds him of Kageyama and that way Karasuno accepted him. They don’t really care. They accept him and all his flaws and for all his supposed high standards and bad attitude, Atsumu obviously still cares or he wouldn’t be wasting his time on Hinata.

“Shouyou-kun…? Yer starin'.” 

Atsumu is frowning down at him and Hinata smiles back. “Thank you, Atsumu-san.” 

“No problem,” he says, looking completely lost. “For what?”

“For not giving up on me.”

Atsumu’s jaw drops. For a moment, he just stares at Hinata, face slowly going red, until he shakes his head and turns away. Rei takes the water bottle and towel and Atsumu strides back towards their practice court.

“Let’s go, we’re here to practice,” he calls. He turns and flashes a pretty terrifying smirk over his shoulder. “I’ve got two hitters who can go at minus tempo now. I wanna use ya both ‘til ya break.”

“Yer really scary sometimes, Atsumu-san,” Kenjou laughs, heading back under the net and herding Houjou with him. “Watch them close, ok Houjou-kun? They’re gonna be synchronized attacks.” 

“Right, senpai,” Houjou says with a nod. “I’ll do my best.”

Jumping in time with Osamu is way more awesome than Hinata thought it would be. Rather than feeling uneasy about the pair of them coming in at the same time, being compared to an incredible player like Osamu, it’s actually so comfortable. It’s incredible to have someone else matching his speed in the air and waiting for Atsumu to choose where the ball goes. He doesn’t feel overshadowed like he thought he would. 

Anytime Hinata stumbles on landing, out of practice from months of not jumping high or fast with the excuse of recovering from his fever, Atsumu grabs his arm or wrist or around the middle and helps steady him. He needs to practice his jumps again. It feels like back in middle school where his broads ended up sending him tumbling into the barriers and dives sent him crashing into walls. But Atsumu steadies him - and one time goes stumbling to the floor on top of him - every time. The message is clear: ‘ _jump as high and fast as you like, hit the ball, I’ll take care of the rest_ ’.

He can do it. 

He can fly again. 

By the time practice is nearly over and they’re called for the team line up, Hinata is exhausted. More than he ever was at Karasuno. More like after a long day at the Fukurodani camps, filled with hard games and penalties. The first years are all struggling too. Riseki laughs breathlessly from behind his towel, as they slump on the floor with the rest of the club, that this is how you have the strength to take on Nationals. Hinata nods and glances at the twins, who are gulping down water and Suna is basically sprawled out on the floor. Apparently everyone took it a bit easier after Nationals and needs to get back into shape. 

Hinata doesn’t think there are any first years as impressive as Narumi and Houjou, and maybe the blocker who’d played with them the first week, in the new applicants. Everyone has been working hard to prove themselves but he doesn't think many first years will make the cut for the Inter-High team. Maybe the Spring Tournament though. Hinata really isn’t sure where he stands compared to everyone else either.

“Alright,” Coach Kurosu says with a clap of his hands. Everyone straightens up from them slumps and focuses. There are uniforms stacked behind him in black and white. “Thank you for your hard work over the past couple of weeks, everyone. Making our decisions wasn’t easy. This year has been one of the best intakes we’ve had. So, Atsumu, captain.”

Coach Oomi smiles and holds out the #1 captain’s jersey. Atsumu grins and springs up to get it. Osamu gets #2 as vice captain, which they’d all known would happen. Ginjima gets #3 and sits next to Hinata with a wide grin. 

“Hinata-kun,” Kurosu says. 

Hinata’s head jerks up. Oomi is holding out a uniform. Hinata staggers up and takes it slowly. The #4 jersey. #4 was always the libero at Karasuno. But Hinata has seen enough other teams to know what the number means to most teams. 

“I…” He swallows the tightness in his throat and scrunches his eyes shut. Oomi chuckles and ruffles his hair. “I’ll do my best!”

“Thank the twins,” Kurosu says. Hinata’s eyes crack open. “It was their idea. Prove them right.”

“It was _my_ idea,” Osamu says as he returns to the group.

“Like hell it was!” Atsumu snaps. He turns to Hinata with a grin. “Even if we could wrestle Suna’s lucky #10 off him, we don’t wantcha to keep hanging onto Karasuno’s #10.”

Osamu nods. “We don’t have a legendary Tiny Giant, a titchy ace for ya to look up, but we do have Aran-kun, one of the top five aces in the country.”

“I’m not an ace though,” Hinata whispers, clinging to the uniform. “I could never be an ace.”

“Idiot,” Atsumu says and smacks his arm. Hinata jerks back and Atsumu narrows his eyes. “Aran-kun wasn’t an ace until he was.”

“Huh?”

“Having the right number on yer jersey or having everyone say so, that doesn’t make an ace,” he says. “What’s wrong with you being my ace, huh? If size mattered, yer Tiny Giant and Hoshiumi would be shut down, right? Think about the big aces ya played - Aran-kun and Ushiwaka and Bokuto - they’re where the setter sends the ball when the pass is off or when they’re panicking, because they know the ace will score no matter what the set. They’re the player yer opponent pays most attention to and tries their hardest to shut down and mark because if they don’t they’ll rack up the points. The one the setter trusts most to get the point at the end of the long rally. Ya were already that for Tobio-kun and Karasuno, no matter what they actually said. And what about that stupid shirt ya were so pleased with? The Way of the Ace or whatever? Be inspiring to yer team. Overcome anything in yer way. Slam down every ball. What part of that aren'tcha doing already, Shouyou-kun?!”

“Is that really how it works?” Suna drawls.

“Shut it, Suna,” he snaps. He turns back to Hinata and grabs his collar, yanking him in so they’re face to face. “Ya might not be an ace yet, Shouyou-kun, but I’ll make ya one. If ya actually want it. I don’t toss to people who suck, and I don’t toss to people who aren’t hungry for it. If ya don’t want to be the best, step aside and let someone else have the spot they’re desperate for.”

“I want it,” Hinata whispers. 

“Huh?! I didn’t hear ya, Shouyou-kun!”

“I want it!” he cries, shaking his head. His throat is so tight and his voice is so hoarse but he does his best to breath through it and meet Atsumu's glare. “I want to be the ace!”

“Then be one,” Atsumu says and releases his collar.

Hinata nods, doubling over where he sits and crying silently into his jersey. He can be Inarizaki's ace. Atsumu and Osamu and the coaches believe he can be the ace. Maybe not right away. Maybe not now. But they believe in him.

“I’d really like to go one year without someone crying into their uniform,” Coach Oomi sighs fondly, barely heard over the third years arguing. “Is it really ok to let them be this chaotic all the time?”

“It’s fine,” Kurosu says. “They’re a team, they all have to face each other’s weaknesses and faults to function properly on the court. Let them see how much this means to him, it'll build the bonds of trust between them.”

“Don’t get snot on yer new uniform, Shouyou,” Riseki laughs, leaning on his shoulders. “That’s gross. C'mon don't cry just 'cause Atsumu-san insulted Bokuto's shirt.”

“I’m not crying,” Hinata rasps. “And it's a really cool shirt!”

“Kosaku,” Kurosu calls. “You’re next.”

“Right!”

They end up with a team of nearly twenty. Hinata shouldn’t be surprised, lots of the teams they’ve faced have had deep benches. Karasuno always felt so small with their entire club on the bench and not even filling it out. 

Suna takes his #10 without much reaction at all, just a thanks for the consideration. His lucky #10. Hinata thinks the twins are right. He can’t take Inarizaki’s #10. He’s not a Tiny Giant, he can’t keep clinging to that legacy. He can’t hang onto That Little #10 forever.

It’s not surprising Riseki makes the team, preening over Osamu’s old #11. People so often told Hinata that the numbers on their jerseys really didn’t mean much, lots of schools handed them out almost entirely based on age except for a few numbers, but Hinata gets it. Some of these numbers have legacies. The memories associated with them mean something.

Kenjou clutches the #15 jersey to his chest, loudly promising he’ll make Akagi proud as his student. And Houjou is similarly proud when he gets Kenjou’s old #16, promising he’ll work hard to make sure he won’t let Kenjou down if the team needs him.

Narumi is last, taking the #19 with shaking hands. Hinata has managed to calm down enough to see just how proud and teary Narumi is when he turns to Atsumu. 

“I won’t let you down, Atsumu-senpai!”

Atsumu sneers back. “If ya thought I was bad before, yer in for a rude awakening, Mikage-kun.”

“I’ll prove myself to ya,” he says with a nod. “Be as hard on me as ya like, I’ll prove I can be Inarizaki’s setter.” 

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Atsumu replies.

“I’m the coach, Atsumu,” Coach Kurosu says. “I’m the judge of it.”

Atsumu laughs. “Right.”

“Alright,” he says. “One more thing.” Coach Oomi holds out a normal uniform - the jacket and sweatpants the entire club is already wearing. “Myoudouin Rei.”

“Me?” Rei squeaks. 

“You, Myoudoin-kun,” Kurosu says. She staggers up to her feet and takes the uniform slowly. “We’ve seen how hard you’ve worked these past few weeks. That deserves acknowledgement. You’ll be the first manager on Inarizaki’s bench in years. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Rei says, nodding quickly. “Thank you so much.” She turns to the team with a deep bow. “I’ll do my best for you all!”

“We finally have a manager!” Riseki cheers. “We’re happy to have you, Rei-kun! Ah, does that mean she’s coming to the Golden Week games with us?”

“As long as she wants to,” Kurosu replies, glancing at Rei who nods slightly. “And as long as you get permission and the correct forms. Speaking of the forms.”

Coach Oomi picks up a stack of papers. He hands them out to the team and one for Rei. Hinata’s glad he’s not the only one overjoyed at being invited and making the team. He’s going with the team to Tokyo and Sendai.

And then Hinata remembers the group chat. _Miyagi and Sendai_. Playing all the team he played last year. Seijoh, Date Tech, Shiratorizawa and Karasuno and Nekoma are all confirmed to play them. Fukurodani and Akaashi. He bites his lip. He’s sure lots of the other schools are going to be confirming soon too. 

“Get some rest, everyone,” Kurosu says. “We’re going to start the real hard work tomorrow. We’ll be trying out lineups and how we can function best at a team. Everything up to now was just a warm up. Don’t forget your cool down stretches, have a good meal and rest up. Good work today everyone.”

Without taking a trip to Coach Ukai’s store after practice, Hinata has become more used to packing even more extra lunches. One for after morning practice, his normal lunch and now one for after afternoon practice. Everyone on the team seems the same. There’s no one who has to be encouraged to eat like Tsukishima and everyone has their own meals. Osamu even hands out homemade onigiri - which is honestly one the best things Hinata has ever tasted - some days for a few of them.

“Alright, alright,” Atsumu calls. “If ya have a jersey now, I’ll let ya pick a locker. Grab a name card and pick a locker. Ya still don’t get a full length one ‘til yer on the regular line up. ‘Samu, wanna do the cards?” 

He opens up the lock on one of the smaller lockers. It’s covered in name cards Hinata vaguely recognizes as the third years, Kita and Aran especially. Inside is a lock box, a notebook and the club journal. Atsumu takes out the lock box and notebook, flicking through and crossing things out on pages. Hinata leans over. 

Oh. It’s the pool for who’s making the team.

Hinata had been pretty strong armed into paying up the 500 yen having a guess by Riseki. He thinks pretty much everyone in the club has taken a shot. The little bit from everyone had really added up. Some of the choices had been obvious, Hinata thinks most of the pages have the twins, Suna, Ginjima, Kenjou, Kosaku and Riseki on their list. Leaning over Atsumu’s shoulder, Hinata is pretty impressed how many people thought he would make the team.

“As always,” Atsumu sighs, opening up the lockbox and taking out half the pool, “Suna wins.”

“What a surprise,” Osamu mutters under the groans of the team. “Congrats, Sunarin.”

“Thank you,” Suna says, counting the money he takes from Atsumu. “What are you putting the rest to?”

“We’ll see what comes up,” Atsumu says. “It’s always good to have a bit to do something for the team, that’s what Kita-san said.” He glances down at his phone and grins. “C’mon. We’ve finished up early. The tennis club will still be practicing.”

“Oh, we get to eat dinner watching yer ridiculously hot girlfriend play so we can feel jealous, huh?” Ginjima laughs. “Yer a real saint, Atsumu.”

“Isn’t he just?” Osamu mutters.

“Will ya just ask Ami-chan to take ya back?” Atsumu snaps. “I’ll do it for ya if yer too much of a coward.”

“We have a deal, ‘Tsumu,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “Remember the stay out of each other’s love lives rule?”

“Which ya keep ignoring by glaring at Yuki-chan.”

“Osamu, Shouyou-kun,” Suna says. He’s in the doorway with his bag. “Let’s go. I’m hungry.”

Osamu nods and herds Hinata out the door. He glances back at Atsumu, who’s pursing his lips and glaring after them. There’s a lot more tension between the twins and Suna whenever the subject of Yukino comes up. And Hinata is definitely starting to feel like he’s being used as something to argue over. Osamu and Suna seem pretty determined to keep him at a distance from Yukino. They might not want to tell him what the problem with Yukino is or how serious it is - and Hinata has decided from what few interactions he’s seen between her and them that she is really mean to Suna and Osamu specifically - but he’s definitely feeling like he’s being protected. Which he’s not sure how to deal with. 

“Hinata-senpai,” Narumi says, hurrying to join them. 

He grins up at them and Hinata smiles back. Narumi is so eager and happy to be setting for the team, even if he’s just a reserve. His joy is so contagious. And the way he’d been so amazed to get the jersey, Hinata wonders if Narumi thought Atsumu disliked him enough to stop him getting on the team. Hinata doesn’t think Atsumu is petty enough - or even dislikes Narumi that much - that he’d block him from getting on the team when he deserved it.

“I just wantcha to know, Hinata-senpai,” Narumi says, “I’m going to do my best and learn everything I can from Atsumu-senpai this year so I can be the better setter I can for ya next year.”

“And I’ll do my best to become a great ace you can rely on, ok?” Hinata replies. 

The entire club ends up sitting on some picnic benches, watching the tennis club practice a little way off. Most of the managers have left, but Rei stays with them, now wearing the club jacket and looking so proud of herself. Hinata is so happy for her. She’s discussing notes from practice with them as they eat and Atsumu’s listening, despite watching Yukino play. She’s pretty impressive. He’s played enough tennis to help out friends - in hopes they would help him with volleyball later - to know Yukino is good. Like really _really_ good. 

Now he understands why everyone keeps calling Atsumu and Yukino as an athletic power couple. 

It might not be volleyball but Yukino’s serve gives him chills just as much as the hard hitting jump serves from Atsumu and Kageyama. The ball slams down and bounces off into the chain link fence behind her opponent. Hinata’s cheeks warm a little watching her. She is beautiful, especially when in play. And unlike the volleyball club, Yukino seems perfectly unflustered by her work out. Her hair is perfectly in place and her cheeks are only lightly flushed. She doesn’t even seem that out of breath. 

“Hey, Atsumu-san,” Hinata says quietly between mouthfuls of light dinner. “What do you like about Yukino-san?”

Atsumu chokes on his food and half the club bursts out laughing. “Shouyou-kun?!”

“What?!” he cries. “It’s just a question.” He huffs and glares at his food. “I just mean, you have lots of girls who confess to you all the time, right? So, why her over all the other pretty girls?”

“Yer just gonna ask the big questions, huh?” Atsumu sighs. He shrugs and turns to face Hinata properly. “To be honest, Shouyou-kun, Yuki-chan was the first girl to confess to me in high school. I already knew about her. She’s a star athlete and she’s serious about her sport. I like that. I think someone who’s that serious about their passion is a pretty amazing thing.”

Hinata blinks at him. “That’s it?” 

“I mean, that was it at the start,” he replies with a shrug. “It's hard to explain, Shouyou-kun. She’s fun when we spend time together and, unlike my middle school girlfriends, she totally gets that I need to focus on volleyball sometimes and I get that she needs to focus on tennis sometimes.”

“I guess that’s important,” he says. “Kindaichi said the Grand King’s girlfriend wanted him to spend more time with her than on volleyball.”

“I’ve given up keeping up with all the names you throw out, chibi-chan,” Suna sighs.

“What about Shouyou-kun?” Ginjimia says, turning to him.

“Me?” Hinata replies. 

“Yeah, what about you, Shouyou-kun?” Suna says.

“Ya ever had a girlfriend?” Riseki says.

Hinata shakes his head quickly. “Nope.”

“Ever been kissed?” Kosaku says.

“Once,” he replies. 

And then everyone is leaning in and Hinata feels a sudden sense of deja vu. Isn’t this exactly what happened at Karasuno? Even Rei is leaning in, face red and eyes wide. He groans, wishing he had a volleyball to hide behind like last time.

“The last day of school, when I told everyone I was leaving,” Hinata says. “Everyone left me and Kageyama because we’re partners or something and we were supposed to say something deep or something, I don’t know.” 

“Waaaaait, Kageyama?” Kenjou says. “Yer setter? _Ow_!” He pulls his leg up onto the bench, rubbing his shin as he turns to glare at Atsumu, who’s glaring right back. “Fine, _Karasuno’s_ setter.”

“Y-yeah,” he mutters.

“Tobio-kun kissed ya?” Atsumu says. He nods. “Like, on the mouth?” 

Hinata nods. 

“Do ya like guys?” Kosaku says.

“I never thought about it,” Hinata replies. “It just happened and I haven’t really thought about it since. It’s not high on my priorities right now.”

“Are the two of ya dating?” Ginjima says.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “He seemed pretty offended when I asked if that was what was going on.”

“Was it good?” Atsumu says.

“I don’t know,” he huffs. He’s sure he’s as red as Narumi and Rei at this point. “I don’t have anything to compare it to!”

The older members of the club frown in a weirdly thoughtful way before Kosaku speaks up. “Well, we should fix that.”

“Wait, _what_?!”

“Suna’s the best kisser here, right?” Ginjima says.

“How do you guys know that?” Riseki says.

Atsumu shrugs. “First year Inter-High, we were celebrating with the cheer squad, spin the bottle happened, things got weird, we all had a laugh.”

“Where was Aran-senpai through all this?” he says. “Shouldn’t he have been the voice of reason?”

“Aran-kun was cool with it,” Osamu says with a shrug.

“It was just a stupid game, Riseki,” Kosaku says. “Couple of us kissed, couple of the cheer squad kissed, some of us got to kiss the cheer squad, Akagi-senpai got to kiss Mari-senpai-”

“Not Mari-senpai,” Kenjou groans and Houjou pats his back dutifully as he slumps onto the table. “There’s no limits to Akagi-senpai’s awesomeness.”

“No one did anything they weren’t ok with,” Ginjima says. “And it was just a few kisses. Not like we got married on a dare or anything.”

“This conversation’s gone in a weird direction,” Hinata says.

“At-chan?” They turn. Yukino is standing behind them, pulling on her jacket. She smiles, leans forward to wrap her arms around Atsumu’s shoulder and kisses his cheek. “Yer boys got out early today?”

“We got our jerseys today,” Atsumu replies, leaning back against her. “So Coach let us out early to rest up for the hard work to come.”

“If ya don’t have one I’ll have to be done with ya, At-chan,” she says. 

Atsumu laughs but Hinata thinks it reminds him of how the Grand King used to tell his team he believed in them when they came onto the court. Joke, reassurance and threat all at once. If it is a real threat, Atsumu doesn’t seem to pick up on it.

“Of course I got one,” he laughs. “I’m the captain.”

“Didn’t yer last captain sit on the bench most the time?” Narumi says.

“Kid, yer pushing yer luck already,” Atsumu huffs. “And don’t talk shit about Kita-san. Best damn captain we ever had.”

“I’ve got nothing but respect for a captain who puts up with ya attitude, Atsumu-senpai,” he replies.

“Narumi-kun,” Hinata says. “Don’t wind up Atsumu-san.”

“Sorry, Hinata-senpai.”

“I’m the captain, Mikage-kun,” Atsumu snaps. “Ya can respect and listen to me too, rather than just Shouyou-kun and ‘Samu.”

“I _like_ Hinata-senpai and Osamu-senpai,” Narumi replies.

“Don’t worry, At-chan,” Yukino says, running her fingers through Atsumu’s hair. She smiles and kisses his temple. “I like you. And isn’t that better than having some cute junior like you?”

“Mmm, probably,” Atsumu says softly.

Hinata tilts his head, watching Yukino tip Atsumu’s jaw and kiss him. Next to him, Osamu clicks his tongue and Suna curls a lip in disgust, focused on his phone. Even the other members of the team are jeering and snorting, laughing at them to get a room and Atsumu to stop rubbing it in their faces. Atsumu does seem happy with Yukino. And Yukino seems sweet to him. She seems sweet to Hinata himself too, constantly warning him to be careful and offering to find him a girlfriend. She only ever seems to be mean to Osamu and Suna.

“So, weren’t we going to get Sunarin to kiss Shouyou-kun?” Kosaku says. 

“Yer what?” Yukino says, straightening up.

“Ah, Shouyou-kun doesn’t know if his first kiss was any good or not,” Ginjima says. “Since he’s got nothin’ to compare it to. We thought we’d fix that.”

Yukino sighs like they’re children saying something ridiculous - Hinata isn’t sure if what they’re saying _is_ actually ridiculous or not but he doesn’t like the tone anyway - and gives Atsumu a peck on the lip before moving away.

“Ya can’t do that,” she says, moving around the picnic table and leaning forward so she’s face to face with Hinata. “That won’t do at all. What did I tell ya about not letting Rin-kun talk ya into things?”

“Why not?” Hinata says quietly, not daring to look away. 

“If ya wanna have a good kiss to compare everything else to, it’s gotta be with a beautiful girl, right?” Yukino says, like it’s obvious. She beams down at him, cupping his cheek and tipping his head. Wait, is she going to- “Lucky you.”

Her lips meet his and Hinata blinks, totally stunned for a moment.

It’s totally different to Kageyama kissing him. Kageyama was just rushed and clumsy. Yukino’s kiss is slow and controlled. She guides Hinata’s hands to her waist and leans into him a little more. Hadn’t she just been making out with Atsumu a moment ago? 

Yukino’s Atsumu’s girlfriend! He can’t just kiss Atsumu’s girlfriend! 

Hinata chances a glance at Atsumu, who’s watching with a strange look; not angry or jealous but with flushed cheeks and wide eyes. A little curious, more than anything.

Well, if Atsumu’s not going to get any at him for it, it’s probably alright.

So he closes his eyes and leans into Yukino’s mouth against his. It leaves him tingly and warm, and maybe it’s a bit better than Kageyama’s kiss just because she knows what she’s doing, but it’s still not what manga and TV says it should be. Yukino runs her fingers through his hair, guiding him gently, but the world doesn’t stop turning. His heart doesn’t skip a beat. It’s nice but it’s not unbelievably amazing and life changing.

“There,” Yukino says, stepping back. She smiles as Hinata opens his eyes, brushing her thumb over his bottom lip. “Now there’s a gold standard for ya to compare to.”

“Thanks…” Hinata breathes. “...I think…”

“Shou-chan, ya got a jersey too, didn’tcha?” Yukino says. She returns to Atsumu, wrapping her arms around him and holding him against her middle. Hinata nods, a little bit lost in the way Atsumu keeps his eyes on him with a complicated smile Hinata can’t make sense of, even as his arms circle Yukino's waist. “Good. Then I’ll see about finding ya a girlfriend, Shou-chan.”

“I really do have the best girlfriend,” Atsumu purrs. 

Yukino giggles, running her fingers through his hair. “Come home with me then, At-chan? My parents are still at work.” 

“Sure,” he replies.

She laughs, tilting her head and sealing their mouths together in another heated kiss. Osamu stands and Suna follows him, slinging their bags over their shoulders and getting out from benches. 

“I’ll leave some dinner covered for ya,” Osamu says. “Anyone else comin’? Or are ya gonna sit here watching them suck face?”

“See you tomorrow, Atsumu-san,” Hinata says, packing up to join them.

The others call goodbyes too, as does the tennis club. They split up as usual, Osamu and Suna sticking side by side and some heading to the bus stop to the dorms but not the one everyone else uses. Hinata often wonders about that, but supposes it doesn't matter. He tilts his head, watching Osamu and Suna’s backs disappearing around the corner. Those two seem as much in a world of their own as the twins sometimes. 

“Hey, Gin-senpai,” Hinata says quietly as they walk through the town. Ginjima’s back straightens in the same way Nishinoya and Tanaka’s used to when he called them senpai. “Umm, do you know why Osamu-san, Suna-san and Yukino-san don’t like each other?”

Ginjima sighs and shoves his hands in his pockets. “None of us are sure, Shouyou-kun. The most we can come up with is that Osamu doesn’t like Yukino and she doesn’t like the hostility. Suna - even if they’re never gonna admit it - is the twin’s closest friend. Osamu’s especially. And there’s no one who’s been able to wrap Atsumu around their little finger like Yukino. Ah, and you, Shouyou-kun.”

“Me?” he says.

“Haven’tcha noticed?” Ginjima says. Hinata frowns up at him. “Atsumu’s totally hooked on ya. Although, he’s not kidding; now we’ve got the team, he’s gonna turn into a tyrant. We’ll see how soft he really is on ya from now.”

“I’m used to being yelled at,” Hinata says. 

“I’m glad,” he says. “Atsumu’s made first years cry before. He’s such a dick sometimes. But, back to Yukino; she’s got Atsumu wrapped around her little finger and, well, they’re so on and off it’s ridiculous. She makes him really happy but when they break up it tends to hit him hard. He acts like he’s so tough, but Atsumu’s actually pretty soft.”

“Huuuh…” 

Hinata frowns and taps his chin thoughtfully. That sounds pretty familiar. Maybe it’s pretty common in setters to be tough guy perfectionists with a lot of insecurities inside.

“If I had to guess, I’d think Osamu and Suna don’t like that,” Ginjima says. “Don’t blame ‘em. I don’t exactly like it. Watching one of yer friends repeat the cycle of falling in love and falling apart over and over - yeah, it sucks. Imagine seeing that in yer twin.”

Hinata nods slowly. “Yeah, that must really suck. But… it seems like more than that...”

“Yeah,” he sighs, “but we’re not sure what else to say and what it could be. I think they talked to Kita-san about it, but the two of them basically keep it to themselves. Y’know, it’s not like we wouldn’t support them if it was something serious. Like, c’mon, if it’s serious, shouldn’t we be able to help, we’re friends, right? It’s like when they’re keeping secrets like this they’re saying ‘ _yeah we’re teammates, but we’re not really friends so stay out of it_ ’. You know?”

Hinata nods again. He gets that. There’s a difference between teammates and friends. They overlap, but being one doesn’t automatically make you the other. Hinata doesn’t like it but he’s not really in the group either. He’s not sure he has any right to dig into the situation between Suna, Osamu and Yukino. Maybe it’s none of his business.

“Sorry, Shouyou-kun,” Ginjima says, leaning against the wall at the end of the street where they separate. “I shouldn’t just dump all that on ya.”

“It’s ok,” Hinata says. “I get it. Teams are complicated.”

“They are,” he says. “Maybe we are just teammates and not friends, or I'm seeing more there than there is. Maybe they don’t want to tell me their personal stuff, I get it, ya don’t gotta tell yer teammates yer life story. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I think and feel about it.”

“Seems pretty normal in my experience,” he says.

“And what about you, Shouyou-kun?” he says. Hinata tilts his head. “We’re going to Miyagi. We’re gonna play lots of teams ya know. Karasuno and Nekoma. Are ya ok about it?”

“I’m not really sure,” Hinata says with a weak smile. “I want to be ok with it. Nothing can change the situation and I want to keep playing volleyball. The only way to do that is to accept that I’m here and I’m going to have to play against teams I know, potentially at Nationals, so what’s a practice match, right? I should get used to it.”

Ginjima grins and leans forward to him. “Atsumu’s settin’ ya up to steal the title of ace off me, Shouyou-kun, so I’m gonna need ya to work hard and be proud of it, ok? I'm not gonna go easy on ya.”

“O-ok,” he says, nodding quickly. “I’ll do my best.”

“I need ya to be proud, but don’t rush it, ok?” Ginjima says. Hinata tilts his head. “It’s only week three. It’s ok not to know who ya are and what yer supposed to feel right now. As long as ya keep stepping forward and yer ready to go by the Inter-High qualifiers, we’re all good. So if ya need time, take time, get yer head straight, play with us Golden Week and figure out what ya really want, ok?”

“Is that really ok?” Hinata says quietly.

“It’s totally ok,” he laughs. “Oh, I dunno if anyone’s told ya yet, Shouyou-kun, but because of the hours we spend training and amount of trips we take, we have extensions on our homework. The club has a study group at the dorms on Sunday afternoon after practice to do homework together and if yer struggling with anything, the school will assign ya a tutor to help ya study during lunch.”

“Really? That’s so cool! And so supportive.”

Ginjima laughs and straightens up. “We haven’t been outside of the top four team in the prefecture in over a decade. We’ve ranked at the Inter-High and Spring Nationals for the past three years. Until we faced Karasuno, we’d been seeded in the top four nationally for three tournaments in a row. That brings a lot of attention to the school and gets us a lot of funding. So we have a lot of allowances to let us keep up those high standards. It’s a trade off; the school allows us lots of helpful ways to keep our grades up that others don’t get and in return we put in the hours and work to keep our position at the top of the high school volleyball world. After all, the donations and funding we get doesn’t just go to the volleyball club, but the entire school.”

“Why aren’t you captain, Gin-senpai?” Hinata says. Ginjima laughs. “You sound like a captain, all responsible and serious.”

“Kita-san always said I got a bit too rash and hot headed,” Ginjima says. “And that my sense of responsibility gets too much and I make foolish decisions because of it.” 

“Yeah but, _Atsumu_ is better?”

“Atsumu… Atsumu has passion. Like no one I’ve ever seen - 'cept you, I think. And, to be honest, following a leader who loves what he’s doing more than anything, there’s no really anything better in my eyes.” Ginjima laughs and waves a hand. “Don’t ever tell him I said that, he’ll never shut up.”

“Got it,” Hinata says. “Our secret.”

“Right. I’ll pick ya up before practice in the mornin’, ok?” he says, heading down the street. “Get some rest. They’re not kidding about everything up to now being a warm up. Be ready.”

“Right! Night, Gin-senpai!” he says, waving as they go their separate way.

“Night, Shouyou-kun!”

Ginjima really is cool. Hinata’s grinning as he heads down the street and in his gate. Atsumu is a pretty awesome captain, but Ginjima would be awesome too. He supposes choosing a captain must be a pretty big responsibility. And Ginjima is being so good about the twins deciding Hinata should be the ace. He really doesn’t know what to make of it. He thought he’d accepted he could never be an ace, he’s just not suited for it and can serve his team better as a decoy, so why does it make him go giddy?

“I’m home,” Hinata calls, slipping out of his shoes. 

“Welcome home, Shouyou,” his mother calls back. 

Hinata follows her and Natsu’s voices and finds them in the kitchen. He smiles and climbs up onto the stool by the island counter. His mother’s cooking dinner already and Natsu is at the other end of the counter with homework. 

“How did practice go?” his mother says. 

Hinata takes his uniform from his bag and lays it on the counter for them to see. “I made the team.”

“Yaaaay!” Natsu almost falls off her stool in the scramble to lean over and hug him. “I knew you could do it!”

“I don’t know why I doubted it,” Hinata replies. “Ah, that means I make the cut for the away games Golden Week.” He picks up the forms and papers from inside his bag. He slides them over the island and his mother takes them to look through. “I think it’s the normal kind of forms like we got from Karasuno.”

She nods, flicking through the papers. “Yes, it’s about the same, just a different font and wording. When you’ve signed one permission slip, you’ve signed them all. Are you going to be ok though?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Hinata says.

“Going back to Miyagi,” she replies. 

She pins the parental information to the corkboard and Hinata gazes at the list of hotels, estimated times for arrival and departure and contact details. It really is just like every other time he had to stay away from home. Only, Inarizaki’s itinerary somehow feels more professional and polished than Karasuno’s. Probably more experience. 

“We only just left and now you’re going back. You’ve played a lot of the schools on the schedule, haven’t you? Won’t it make you more homesick than you already are?”

“Maybe,” Hinata says with a frown. “The team says I can fake an injury and not play Karasuno and Nekoma if I feel too conflicted, and maybe that’s ok for now, but I should at least be able to handle everyone else, right? If I get all emotional about having to play members of my old team, how am I ever going to go pro? It’s not like we’re all gonna play for the same team. And I need to be on a different team to Kageyama to beat him anyway. I’m just… not ready to beat him quite yet… but I should be able to face the other teams!”

His mother smiles. “If you’re sure, I won’t say anything more about it. Just know that we’re here if you want to talk about it.”

“Besides,” Hinata declares, “I want to see how Aone-san and Date Tech manage Suna-san’s spikes!”

“Date Tech is the big wall guys, right, nii-chan?” Natsu says.

“That’s right,” he says. “They’re huuuuuuge. But mostly friendly. Except their captain, he’s kinda a jerk, but in a Tsukki sorta way.”

“And what does Suna-san do that’s special?”

“He’s got a really strong core that lets him move in midair.” Natsu pouts at him and Hinata grins. “C’mere. Mom, can you block for us?”

“How do I do that?” their mother says, coming over. 

“Hold your hands up like this,” he says, demonstrating for her. She nods and holds up her arms so Hinata can pick up Natsu. “See, when you spike normally, the blockers jump in front of your right arm, because most players are right handed. So if Natsu spikes -” Natsu does the slow motion of a simple hit and contacts their mother’s arms “- it’s pretty easy for them to block. Especially short guys like me. But Suna-san is really cool. Because he’s got a suuuuuper strong core he can go wooooosh in midair when he spikes -” Natsu does the movement again and this time Hinata tilts her so she’s on her side, to ridiculously happy giggling “- right past the blockers.”

“So cooool!” Natsu cheers and Hinata sits her on the counter. “But… where’s your core?”

Hinata’s grin widens. “It’s the tickly bit.”

He pounces on Natsu, tickling her tummy and sides to loud giggles and squeals. Natsu squirms and tries to shove him off but Hinata persists until she’s in tears with laughter and begging him to stop.

“I’m home,” calls his father’s voice.

“Welcome home, dear,” his mother calls back. 

“Sounds like everyone’s having fun without me,” he laughs.

“Shouyou made the team,” she says. “He’s going to Tokyo and Sendai with them for away games. And now trying to explain what your core muscles are. Although, I’m not sure he’s got the explanation quite right.”

Dinner is full of laughter and jokes. Hinata thinks, sad as it is, that his parents seem happier now they’re living in Hyogo. Not that they were unhappy before, but he’d heard whispers last year when they were still arguing about moving that the transfer came with better pay and that’s something even Hinata gets about adults - better pay means less money stress. He’d heard them argue about how good Inarizaki High was too, that Hinata could go to a good school now, as if he hadn’t chosen Karasuno because of the volleyball team, not how ‘good’ the school was. But if Inarizaki’s good academics and great volleyball team makes them less stressed and worried for him, that’s fine. 

Maybe he’ll be happier here when he gets used to it a bit more.

After dinner, Hinata showers quickly - and, yeah, he feels a lot ickier after practice with Inarizaki than Karasuno, more like the hard days in the heat of summer training camps - folds his uniform away neatly, and gets out his homework. It’s all well and good to have a study group on Sundays and an extension on all their homework, but he doesn’t want to fall behind if he can help it. The glances at his phone before he gets started. The group chats are as lively as ever. He flicks through to see if anything interesting has been said or just the normal chatter. It doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. 

There are a few messages for him, general check ins and updates that Hinata replies to, and a missed call from Kageyama. That would have been around the time Karasuno just split up after after practice snacks. Kageyama called him walking home? Hinata would have still been in practice. Actually, probably about the time he was being kissed by Yukino.

“You’re late,” Kageyama says as he picks up. “Too good to talk to us now?”

“Just you,” Hinata replies naturally, flicking through his homework and picking which subject to start on. Kageyama snorts and Hinata sighs as he sets the call on speaker. “We were still in practice.”

“Is it normal for you to stay that late?” he says.

“We got out a bit early today because we got our jerseys,” he replies. Kageyama hums and there’s a rustle of paper on his end. Is he doing his homework too? “Coach says it’s going to get tougher now that they’ve picked the team.”

“ _And_?”

“And what?” Hinata says with a grin.

“Don’t play games, dumbass,” Kageyama snaps, “did you make the cut or not?”

“I made the team,” he says. “What about you, Kageyama?”

“Dumbass,” he mutters and Hinata laughs. “I’m Karasuno’s starting setter.”

Hinata grins, putting on the most obnxious tone possible. “ _Congratulations_. I’m _so_ proud of you. We haven’t got a starting line up yet.”

“Do you at least know if you’re actually playing libero?”

“Coach said I might be starting libero for a few practice matches. But, the setter is pretty keen to have me as a wing spiker. He saw me at Nationals. Thinks he can do a better job than you.”

“Not if he’s having to ask Akaashi-san for advice,” Kageyama says. Hinata laughs. And then there’s a pause and Kageyama’s voice comes back softer. “You could have asked me if your setter needed help figuring you out.”

“I know...” Hinata replies. “But I can’t rely on you all the time, Kageyama. Besides, I wasn’t asking for advice, I was just talking about my frustrations with Kuroo-san and Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san offered some notes.”

“If you’re sure.”

“So, how is everyone?”

He and Kageyama chat away as they do their homework, asking each other for advice every now and again as if they’re good at homework between them. Yachi teaching him how to make proper notes has helped, but he’s definitely going to need that study group.

“You’re playing Fukurodani and Itachiyama Golden Week, right?” Kageyama says quietly a few hours later. Hinata hums in confirmation, stacking up his homework and pulling out the itinerary for Golden Week. “We’re leaving Friday before for Tokyo and then have Fukurodani that Saturday afternoon, then Itachiyama on Sunday morning.”

“Two of the top teams in the country,” he says. “Make the most of it even if you get your ass handed to you. Any other interesting teams?”

Hinata leans over as he starts getting ready for bed. “Umm, oh, we’re playing one of the top girls’ teams on Wednesday. That’s gonna be weird. The team is really excited over that.”

“Interesting.” He sounds like he’s changing too. “Who else?”

“Nohebi, they were fourth in Tokyo last year,” he says. “We’re playing them the next Saturday morning.”

“The ones Nekoma and Fukurodani say are cheaters?”

“Yeah. And…” Hinata pauses and frowns at the name on the last Sunday before they head back to Inarizaki. “ _Oh_. Hang on, I’ve got to message the team.”

“What’s wrong?” 

He climbs into bed with the schedule and opens up the team group chat. “Nothing serious. Just a surprise.”

“Yeah?”

“A university.”

> **Inarizaki VBC**
> 
> **LittleMiddle (22.12)**   
>  hey so why’s there a university on our schedule???
> 
> _BetterMiya (22.12)_   
>  is that weird?
> 
> **LittleMiddle (22.13)**   
>  we barely got any practice games let alone universities
> 
> **Sunarin (22.14)**   
>  we do it all the time    
>  adults and college teams are standard for top teams   
>  we were more excited about the girls tbh
> 
> **SilverAce (22.14)**   
>  suna’s cute lil sis is in niiyama’s club
> 
> **Sunarin (22.14)**   
>  flirt with my sister and die

“Ok, apparently they place older teams all the time,” Hinata says with a frown. “They’re more excited by the girls’ team.”

“I suppose we played high schools a lot at Kitagawa Daiichi,” Kageyama says thoughtfully. “We played Seijoh a lot, but a few others too. I imagine Shiratorizawa was the same. Is your new team that good?”

“Apparently we haven’t dropped out of the top four in the prefecture for over ten years.” He rolls over onto his elbows, searching through the Fukurodani group chat for what he fears he already knows. “So you’d better train hard to meet me at Nationals. I won’t let you back out.”

“As if I’d lose to you.”

“Ah, found it!”

“What?” Kageyama says.

“Bad news,” Hinata says. 

“Then why do you sound so happy about it?” he snaps.

“I’ve figured out where I know that university from,” he says.

> **Training Camp 2012**
> 
> **LittleMiddle (22.20)**   
>  _@demonlibero_ please be gentle with me
> 
> **GamerCat (22.20)**   
>  now what
> 
> **AlleyCat (22.20)**   
>  go to sleep Kenma
> 
> **OwlAce (22.20)**   
>  yakkun what did you do to hinata???
> 
> **DemonLibero (22.20)**   
>  nothing yet wtf shouyou?
> 
> **OriginalSetter (22.21)**   
>  Yaku please don’t bully Hinata   
>  And Kurro’s right   
>  Everyone still in high school go to bed
> 
> **DemonLibero (22.21)**   
>  i’ve literally done nothing    
>  but also wow shouyou    
>  when have i ever been gentle with anyone but shibayama?
> 
> **LittleMiddle (22.21)**   
>  golden week
> 
> **DemonLibero (22.21)**   
>  oooooh    
>  shit   
>  oh shouyou    
>  no    
>  not them    
>  michi’s gonna be so smug   
>  he’s already too damn tall for a libero   
>  i don’t need him being smug too
> 
> **AlleyCat (22.22)**   
>  we have no idea who you’re talking about Yakkun   
>  and stop swearing in the chat    
>  there are kids here

“You’re playing Yaku-san’s team?” Kageyama says. 

“Looks like it,” Hinata replies.

“You’re playing everyone but us,” he says. “Anyone would think you’re scared and avoiding us.”

“I’m saving you for the national stage, Kageyama,” he laughs. “So the most people possible can see you lose.”

“I look forward to seeing your attempt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should give you guys sibling bonding time every time I do a Hinata pov but I can't because we've only got next chapter and then the guys are off to their Golden Week away games, so no Natsu for a while (which hurts my soft fluffy heart tbh) but also that scene is there for the Suna vs Aone hype because I was thinking about how Date Tech would handle Suna from the moment I saw him do his thing.
> 
> And I would like to ask everyone's opinion. There is the option to bump the rating up to M. Now, it doesn't change the plot, it doesn't change what's going to happen or anything like that, and it won't suddenly turn into a smutfest. It would just means what's already planned and in the works could be a little more intense, not just with the more intimate moments but the slightly not so happy moments (explaining this without giving away spoilers is killing me). As I say, it doesn't change anything plot wise, it'd just give me a bit more freedom to be a bit more extreme, but if you guys are comfortable where we are that's cool.
> 
> Also, if I randomly disappear for like a week, my laptop is literally falling apart so that'll it finally giving up and me having to rush to get a new one. Wow long notes today.


End file.
